The love of two Pokemon Rangers: Kellyn and Luana
by Eeveefanalways
Summary: Kellyn and Luana are two Rangers who enjoy their job, but what happens when a nefarious group threatens Almia? Along the way, Kellyn and Luana will find love, defeat bad guys and help the citizens of Almia. Based on Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia. I don't know of a ship name for Kellyn and Luana, so I made my own, called FriendlyRangerShipping.
1. Chapter 1: Kellyn and Luana

The love of two Pokémon Rangers: Luana and Kellyn

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the Pokémon Ranger series, sadly.**

I smiled happily as I continued walking to Vientown, to introduce myself, my name's Kellyn Hajime and this is the story of how I met my love, Luana Rakua. I always thought it was because Luana and I were both so energetic and vibrant considering that we're adults, or because we're the tallest people in Almia, or even because we're both Rangers, I'm not too sure which of these reasons had us fall in love with each other, but I think it was all of them. While I always appreciated Luana and the Pokémon Rangers in general, there was something about Luana that just made me so prone to smiling every time I saw her and I absolutely had to find out why she made me feel this way.

When I first started out in the Vientown Ranger base I was happy to see who I would be working with, there was Barlow, the Vientown base leader, Crawford, the jokester, Elaine, the mechanic, Jen, the base operator and assistant mechanic and her….Luana, the gorgeous and sweet Area Ranger that always seems to captivate me whenever I see her. I remember when I first met Luana, while all the other people stationed at the base gave big grins upon seeing me and finding out that I would be working with them, Luana also did the same and smiled with everyone else, though she seemed to be a bit surprised, perhaps it was because of the burnt toast smell? No, that couldn't be it, Crawford didn't make any joke about the burnt toast, so there had to be another reason she looked so stunned. Maybe it's because I was in the same room as her? There's no way that could be the reason…

"Uh, Luana, are you okay?" Barlow said after he waved his hand in front of her face.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine! I was just thinking about something." Luana said while she ran her hand through her hair.

"Oh really? Were you thinking about the time that you spilled water all over us when you tried to help clean up those burnt pancakes Barlow tried making on the stovetop?" Crawford said while grinning about the memory.

Everyone laughed at this and I couldn't help but smile a little, Luana didn't appear to be clumsy, even when she was in her daze a few moments ago…she looks amazing, especially when she smiles.

After I shook everyone's hands and they introduced themselves, Luana walked up to me and shook my hand first and I gave her a big grin, mainly because of how beautiful she was, with her handshake being firm, yet her hand was soft.

"H-hi, my name is Luana, it's very nice to meet you, I'm glad to be working with you." Luana said.

"Hello Luana, I'm glad to be working with you as well, I'll be happy to get to know you better." I said as I smiled, which made Luana blush slightly.

Even though it was only a few weeks from when I first met Luana, we're already very close to one another. It makes me rather sad that she feels that she's not a capable Ranger and that she feels like she's a nobody.

After Luana became a Top Ranger and I was in one of the Ranger Union's medical rooms following what happened on Team Dim Sun's cargo ship a few days or so ago, I was sad that she would be leaving me and everyone else behind, however, I realized to my absolute joy that she spoke with Chairperson Erma. I always knew that she cared, but the conversation Luana had with Chairperson Erma made me knew how she cared immensely about me, especially when Luana mentioned about what happened on the Cargo Ship that was operated by Team Dim Sun.

After I started getting to know people around Vientown, I enjoyed it quite a bit and I was happy that Luana was with me as my Ranger partner since she was the newest person to be hired by the Vientown Ranger base before I joined. A week after I joined, Luana and I were walking around town late in the evening since there wasn't anything to do and then we decided to go to Nabiki beach. The sun was already set and the scene looked beautiful as we saw Wingull flying around the water, I decided to sit down on the sand and relax for a bit while Luana joined me, with the wind blowing softly.

"Kellyn, I was wondering, what made you decide to become a Ranger? I assume it's because you enjoy helping out people, nature and Pokémon, right?" Luana said as she smiled at me, causing me to blush, as I started to quickly become fidgety.

"W-well, that is the main reason I decided to become a Ranger, while I do love protecting people, Pokémon and nature, another reason I went to Ranger School is because of how things were in my old town before we moved to Almia. The kids there would always bully me relentlessly but of course, they wouldn't hit me or make insult me when my parents were around. They…they would beat me horribly and whenever my parents saw my bruises, they would go to the kids' parents, though they didn't care. They would never pick on my sister, Rina, though. Whenever they tried, I would do my best to have them back off. However, because my mom and dad work as doctors helping out Pokémon and people, we were able to…to move to Chicole Village in Almia. All the people in Chicole Village and Vientown are so nice and kind." I said, choking back a few tears as Luana's expression looked like she was heartbroken, while her eyes also started to look watery.

Kellyn…you were treated so horribly and I find it very sweet that you stuck up for your sister despite the cruel treatment that you two were getting. If…if anyone here tries hurting you, I-I'll…I'll do my best to protect you." Luana said as tears started to stream down her face.

It made me sad seeing Luana like this, so I gave her a warm embrace, at first, she was a bit surprised, but then she hugged me tighter as she started to sniffle.

"It's okay, I have a great Ranger partner with me. I'm curious though, what made you decide to become a Ranger?" I said, wiping away my tears as I smiled at Luana.

"Me? I wanted to become a Ranger because I was always told that I was a loser and could never be one. Just like you, I was bullied by kids, they decided to make fun of me because of how much I enjoy nature and how beautiful it is. While none of them would ever hit me, they would constantly insult me. My mom worked as an electrician while my father was a teacher before we moved to Almia and it's much better here. Both of my parents and my brother, Terry, live in Haruba Village, though I'm trying to see if my brother can move to another town such as Chicole Village since he would be much closer and more convenient, plus, it would be nice if he moved so he can keep your parents' company, if that's okay with you. He loves exploring Almia, so he wouldn't visit too often, but he has mentioned about taking up a different job. My parents tend to be very disrespectful towards me and my brother, but I adore him, he's so friendly." Luana said.

"Don't worry Luana, I'll keep you safe in case anyone tries hurting you! I'm sorry your parents don't know what a great person you are, but I do. As for having my parents and your brother live next to each other, that would be an awesome idea." I said happily as Luana blushed.

Luana and I just sat there for a while, hugging as we listened to the sound of the waves, after a while, we stopped hugging as we just looked at each other. Luana's eyes were shimmering as she started to blush, we both turned to admire the beautiful waves even as the sun had already gone down, though after being there for a while, I yawned as Luana did the same shortly afterwards.

"Hahah, you're tired? That's funny, I thought you were the energetic one around the Ranger base!" Luana said as she laughed, her hair flowing in the wind as she turned to me.

"I would say I am, you just yawned too! What do you think we're going to do tomorrow?" I said trying to hide my blush.

"Hmm, I'm not too sure, maybe we could go to Pueltown and get some food to eat!" Luana said.

"That would be pretty nice, would Elaine or Crawford be coming along? I know Barlow can't join us since he has to watch the base, but I heard Pueltown is nice!" I said.

"No, it'll be just you and me! Pueltown is very beautiful, I think you'll enjoy it!" Luana said with a faint blush on her face, her hair continuing to flow in the wind.

"Wow, you look gorgeous, especially with how your hair is flowing…" I said as I realized that Luana heard me, with her face becoming very red.

"You…you think that I…I'm gorgeous? Thank you Kellyn, no one's ever been so nice to me." Luana said as she continued to blush.

"Y-you're welcome Luana, do you want to head back to the Ranger base? It's already dark and the Wingull are gone." I said, my face feeling very hot as I got up first and then helped Luana as she shyly took my hand.

"Let's do that, I wouldn't want any dangerous Pokémon attacking you." Luana said as we started to walk back to the Ranger base, we were halfway up the steps when we encountered a Ranger with a mask covering his face at the top of the stairs. From what I could see, his hair was dark brown and brushed forward. I cautiously waved when I saw him, but instead of him waving back, he only grimaced at Luana.

"You go to the beach, Luana? Why? Are you trying to look good for your boyfriend over there despite how idiotic you are?" The Ranger said, his voice muffled as he moved part of his mask, spitting on the staircase as we were trying to bypass him. I instinctively stepped in front of Luana to protect her from this angry Ranger.

"You should watch your attitude. Luana is far from idiotic, she isn't some callous Ranger like you. I was being cautious when I saw you with that mask on, now I know why. Get out of the way." I said, gritting my teeth as the Ranger scoffed at me.

"Hah, you're just some low ranking Ranger and out of all the Rangers I've seen, Luana is by far the clumsiest. I don't know why she's even a Ranger to begin with and as for you, trainee, maybe you should get out of my way." The male Ranger said before he pushed me, making me stumble back.

If it wasn't for Luana catching my fall, I would have gotten seriously hurt. I quickly adjusted myself and stood steady, but before I could even react, the Ranger slapped Luana across the face, making her stagger, though I was able to quickly hold her from falling.

I was enraged at this Ranger for hitting Luana and managed to punch him in the face, I was trying to knock his mask off to see who he was, but I was only able to make him stumble a bit as he quickly regained his footing. The Ranger tried punching me again but I was able to dodge it as I gave him a swift left hook, making him fall back as he collapsed on the ground. Instead of trying to see who he was in fear that he might recover quickly, I decided to quickly grab Luana's hand as we both ran inside the Ranger base, everyone already asleep.

"Luana, are you okay? Did that Ranger slap you too hard? Are you in pain?" I said, worried.

"I'm not hurt, though that slap did sting a little. I hope you're not too badly injured, he hurt you quite a bit. You protected me, Kellyn, thank you." Luana said as she gave me a kiss on the cheek, making my face feel hot while she blushed heavily.

"You're welcome, he didn't hit me too hard, let's head to bed for now, I'm feeling really tired and a bit scared from that Ranger." I said as Luana and I went and laid down on our beds.

"I don't blame you, it's too bad he had a mask on. Let's tell Barlow about how the Ranger attacked us tomorrow morning. If you still want to go to Pueltown tomorrow, I think you'll enjoy it. Good night Kellyn." Luana said, smiling.

"I agree, telling Barlow first thing tomorrow morning is a smart idea. As for going to Pueltown, I'm excited for it to the point where I might not be able to sleep! I do want to be well rested for Pueltown tomorrow though. Good night Luana." I said as I smiled back and started to drift off to sleep.

As I woke up, I started getting ready as I changed off from my Eevee pajamas into my Ranger uniform and headed outside where I already saw Elaine and Luana talking to each other while Barlow and Crawford were speaking with a citizen.

"Yes Mr. Woodward, I understand, we'll try finding that Ranger. Thanks for your help." Crawford said as Mr. Woodward smiled at me and left the Ranger base.

"Hi Kellyn, good morning. Mr. Woodward was telling us that he noticed a Ranger skulking in some bushes last night while you and Luana sitting down by the beach. Mr. Woodward saw him attack both of you as Kellyn punched him in the face, however, Mr. Woodward couldn't get a good look at him because the Ranger quickly got up and ran away. I'll contact the Ranger Union and see what they know, but unfortunately, they can't do anything because of how dark it was." Barlow said.

"Barlow, that Ranger is definitely dangerous to everyone. Even if you contact the Ranger Union, the Ranger had a mask on which Mr. Woodward probably didn't notice. It didn't budge at all when Kellyn punched him! I'm worried that Ranger will try attacking Kellyn again and we have no idea what he looks or sounds like and considering that his voice was muffled as well, it's more of an issue to know who he was! The only thing we know about the Ranger is that he has dark brown hair combed forward and most of the Rangers have brown hair!" Luana said, her worried expression prevalent on her face.

"I understand, that Ranger just attacked you guys for no reason. I can tell the both of you are stressed considering the assault so I insist the both of you take today off, you two can head wherever you like, but be careful. I don't know if that Ranger has any other friends who might want to hurt either of you." Barlow said as he had Jen, the Operator, contact the Ranger Union.

"Wow, Kellyn, you protected Luana, that's so sweet!" Elaine whispered.

"I'm glad someone was there to protect her, who knows what that crazy Ranger would have done to her or you if you guys were alone." Crawford said.

"Thanks guys, I wouldn't know what I would do if that Ranger hurt Luana." I said as I balled my fists up in anger, though when Luana put her hand on my shoulder and smiled at me, I calmed down immediately.

As Barlow hanged up the phone, he walked over to us and motioned for Luana to talk with him for a bit. After a minute, Luana and Barlow came back, with Luana looking excited and Barlow having a big grin on his face.

"Since you two were already planning on having a date, the two of you can definitely go to Pueltown today!" Barlow said happily.

"Thank you Barlow, we appreciate it! One second…did you just say a…date?!" I said, my face feeling hot while Luana blushed.

"Hahah, I definitely did, Luana said that she wanted to show you around Pueltown since you've never been there before! I figured it's a date because of how close you two are! The two of you can go enjoy yourselves, have fun!" Barlow said as Luana grabbed my hand as we ran through Vien forest, heading into Pueltown shortly.

"We're here! Welcome to Pueltown!" Luana said as she gave me a firm hug which made my face feel hot as I blushed heavily.

As we were walking through Pueltown, we noticed some Rattata and Elekid playing tag with some kids, which made us smile. Eventually, we continued walking past a few cafés with Luana still holding my hand and I was starting to wonder when we would reach the café Luana wanted to take me to so badly.

"L-Luana, I don't mean to sound rude, but when are we going to go to the café you wanted us to eat at?" I said, blushing as Luana held my hand a little tighter.

"Hahah, Kellyn that wasn't rude at all! We're almost to the café, close your eyes and I'll let you know when we reach there!" Luana said joyfully as I closed my eyes.

"Luana? What does the café serve to eat? Subs? Soups? Fries?" I said, trying to not blush any more than I already am.

"Don't worry! We're already here, you can open your eyes now!" Luana said.

As I did just that, I saw a small and elegant café with beautiful red flowers in front and while it was empty at this time, the chef was cleaning up the place trying to make sure it looked nice.

"Wow Luana, this place looks nice, you're bringing me here to eat?" I said, surprised.

"Of course I am! Let's go in!" Luana said as we both walked inside.

"Good morning, welcome to Pueltown's Star café! Here are some menus, when you two are ready to place an order, just call me over!" The chef said as we nodded.

As the chef went back in the kitchen, Luana and I had already decided on what to get after a few minutes.

"We're ready to order!" Luana said as the chef came back.

"Sounds good, what are you going to have?" The chef said to Luana.

"I'll have 6 pancakes, Magnemite toast with peppers and a glass of Miltank milk!" Luana said.

"That's a great order, what will you be having, sir?" The chef said.

"Since I usually have that for breakfast, I'll have what she's having!" I said as we handed the menus back to the chef.

"You eat the same thing for breakfast too? That's awesome! Looks like you love to eat just like I do!" Luana said with a smile. After twenty minutes, our food was finished as the chef handed the food to us.

"I hope you two enjoy the food!" The chef said as he walked to the back of the café. Within minutes, Luana and I had finished the food, absolutely full as we had the chef come back and hand us the bill.

"Wow, looks like we even eat food quickly too! That food was really good, do you want to head elsewhere after we pay the bill, or do you want to order a snack to go? Either way, I'll pay the bill for both of us!" I said as took out some Pokédollars.

"That's right, I thought I was going to eat quicker, but we finished at the same time! We can walk around town for a bit more, I'm full. Also, I'll pay the bill." Luana said as she also took out some money.

"Hmm, how about we pay for each other's food? They cost the same amount!" I said with a grin as Luana and I paid for each other's food, after we made sure we gave the right amount, plus a tip, we waved to the chef and left the café.

As Luana and I were walking around Pueltown admiring all the beautiful scenery, we decided to head to the port to look at the Wingull, however, we soon saw an odd machine by some houses, it appeared to be controlling several Rattata, Elekids and Magbys. There had to be at least thirty Pokémon and they were behaving very oddly and seemed to be in serious pain, Luana didn't know what the machine was either as she looked as stunned as I did.

"W-what is that machine? I've never seen anything like it! Those Pokémon need our help, let's go Kellyn!" Luana said as we both ran up to the weird machine.

Luana and I used our Stylers to determine what sort of Field Move had to be used to destroy the strange machine and we were both very perplexed when it said no Field Move could actually be used, Luana and I figured that we would have to use brute force in order to destroy it.


	2. Chapter 2: Team Dim Sun

**A/N: Not sure if I have to do this every chapter but I do not own Pokemon. Please enjoy the story!**

Chapter 2: Team Dim Sun

Seeing those Pokémon suffer made me angry and even though I was struggling to move the strange machine at first, I was able to lift it up as I tried my best to destroy it by smashing it on the ground, though my attempts didn't work. I attempted to continuously smash the machine on the ground a few times and failed each time, Luana winked at me as she was able to lift it up easily and threw it on the ground in a rage. When the strange machine impacted the ground, it shattered into several pieces as I stood there with my eyes wide at Luana's display of strength, the Pokémon seemed to no longer be suffering as they started to walk around like normal.

"Luana, that was amazing, you destroyed that machine like it was nothing while I couldn't even break it by tossing it against the ground. That machine...I've really never seen anything like it before, it's so weird...what do you think it could be?" I said.

"Thanks Kellyn, I have no idea what this machine is, but we should take this thing back to the Ranger base. Before we do that though, let's look around for any more of those machines." Luana said.

I nodded as we both looked around Pueltown, even though we couldn't find any of those odd machines at first, once we headed to the port, we saw some more Pokémon being controlled, such as the Wingull and Pelipper. As we checked around the port and went towards the boathouse where ships were docked, we saw four people by a boat, three of them were dressed in a black and purple styled jumpsuit with a black cap while the fourth individual had black pants and a shirt in the same design, though he wasn't wearing a hat. What really caught our attention though, was the same machine that we saw earlier, except it was gold colored.

"Luana, those guys are dangerous, let's see what they're planning before attacking them." I whispered as Luana and I went by the boathouse, making sure that they didn't notice us.

"Alright crew, we need to put this last Gigaremo in Pueltown to control these Pokémon. This one is strong enough to control all the Pokémon in the area once it's put in the main part of town. Let's get a move on!" The suspicious man said as he went back on the boat.

"Got it! Team Dim Sun will control all Pokémon in Almia!" The three men said as they struggled to lift the heavy machine, which we now know is called a Gigaremo. They continued to walk with the Gigaremo, slowly moving towards the boathouse. As they eventually approached the boathouse, Luana and I attacked the two in front, knocking them unconscious while the third one dropped the heavy Gigaremo.

The third one tried running away, but Luana charged at him and punched him in the face, making him fly towards the boathouse as he collapsed.

"Hey! What's all that racket? Are you three idiots slacking off again?" The man said as we heard him cautiously approach.

"Hold it right there!" Luana said as she tried attacking the man, he barely dodged her attack as he took out a metal Styler. He was able to get caught by Luana as I went over to help, pinning the man down. He was struggling with us as he was able to enter something on the Styler he was holding.

"Hah, it's too late, I already have a Pokémon on the way. Team Dim Sun will make sure you Rangers suffer. This Team Dim Sun admin is going to make you guys feel like losers once you get beat by the Pokémon coming your way." The admin said as he threw the metal Styler in the water, soon after, we heard a Pokémon, it sounded like a…Toxicroak?!

Almost instantly, a Toxicroak started hopping out from the boat as it spewed poisonous gas at us, making us dodge it as the admin ducked and ran to the boat. We continued dodging the Toxicroak's attacks while trying to lure it away from Pueltown and towards the boat the admin was on. Unfortunately, by the time we made our way to the boat, it was already gone.

"Luana, we have to catch this Toxicroak before it heads to the main part of town!" I said as Luana nodded.

The Toxicroak started to spew mud puddles, Luana and I managed to dodge some of them, but one of them managed to hit me as I took a tumble, landing hard on my back. I looked up in fear as I saw the Toxicroak hop over to where I was, preparing to launch poison at me.

"Oh no, Kellyn! Hey Toxicroak, come over here!" Luana said as she ran up the steps where several crates were, hoping to distract the Pokémon in order for me to regain my footing. As I was able to get back up and run up to where Luana was, I saw Luana had a Pikachu as she got it to paralyze the Toxicroak.

"Great work Luana, let's capture this Toxicroak quickly!" I said as I started to make loops around the Pokémon with my Capture Disc.

Toxicroak's friendship meter was increasing quickly and it was already halfway full, though it eventually broke free of paralysis. As Toxicroak continued hopping around, Luana was trying to paralyze it as it hopped towards her, I quickly got in between the two of them in order to protect her as the Pikachu was barely able to paralyze the Toxicroak before it started attacking more frequently. The Toxicroak was able to launch some poison gas at Luana before it got fully paralyzed, with me being able to get her out of the way just in time. As it was still paralyzed, I continued making loops around the Toxicroak as my Styler eventually said the capture was complete. The Toxicroak looked around, appearing very confused as it started to wander around and play with some nearby Elekid as we released the Pikachu.

Luana and I made our way back to boathouse, preparing to restrain the three men who worked for Team Dim Sun. When we looked at where they were, all we saw was oil and damage to the boathouse from when Luana punched one of them.

"They got away! That admin had that Toxicroak attack us as a distraction." Luana said, fuming until I gave her a quick hug, as I pulled away from her, I saw a noticeable blush on her face.

"Don't worry Luana, we found out a lot of information we didn't know, such as Team Dim Sun and those weird machines called Gigaremos. We should bring that green Gigaremo back if it's still there!" I said happily as we both ran back to the town.

"That's correct, there's the possibility that no one else has even seen one of these Gigaremos before. Kellyn, thank you for the hug, aside from those at the Ranger Base, no one has ever shown me compassion before." Luana said, still blushing as we headed out of the port and walked up the steps.

"You're welcome, that makes me very sad to hear, Luana, I think that you're a very brave Ranger considering how you distracted that Toxicroak when it was being mind-controlled, even as it continued attacking with mud puddles. I started to get scared when I eventually slipped on one of them and I fell down, it was really scary for me as it started to build up poison to launch at me. I was worried about you, and I certainly I don't think the Pueltown Ranger Depot would have any Toxicroak antidote for me in time. Thank you Luana, you saved me." I said as I gave Luana a kiss on her cheek, my face feeling hot.

"Y-you're welcome Kellyn, I couldn't stand to see you fall like that. I'm glad I was able to help you before that Toxicroak could harm you." Luana said as I smiled at her, her face almost as red as a Tamato berry.

As we headed to where the Gigaremo was, we saw that it was still there as a few citizens were crowded around it. Luana and I ran up to the Gigaremo, separating the curious crowd from it.

"Excuse me everyone, we'll need to take this machine with us. Please step aside." I said as Luana easily carried it in one arm.

_'Wow, she's so strong and amazing, Luana is such a wonderful Ranger.'_ I thought to myself, once again feeling my face get hot as Luana and I went all the way to Vientown's Ranger base, opening the door for her when we arrived.

"Haha, what a gentleman, thank you!" Luana said as we entered and put the Gigaremo down by the area where Elaine works.

"Luana?! Kellyn?! You both are back from your date rather quick! W-what is that weird machine? Did you carry yourself?!" Barlow said as Elaine, Crawford and Jen were in shock.

"Hello Barlow, good to see you guys! Luana and I had a wonderful day, but it was cut short because of a nefarious group known as Team Dim Sun who are trying to control the Pokémon in Almia using these same machines known as Gigaremos. They're a dangerous group and these machines can easily control Pokémon from a wide range. Also, yes, Luana carried this Gigaremo herself, it's notoriously heavy." I said.

"Wow, I'll make sure to tell the Ranger Union about this group if they're not aware of them already. You two did amazing work by helping the citizens and Pokémon of Pueltown, on your day off while you two were in the middle of a date! The both of you are being promoted to Ranger Rank 3, congratulations!" Barlow said, chuckling as my Pachirisu and Luana's Buneary started hopping around.

"Yay we did it! Great work Kellyn, I couldn't have done it without you!" Luana said as she hugged me.

"You did some great work too, Luana! Awesome job!" I said as my heart started to thump faster.

"Aww, they're really sweet together!" Elaine said as we all started to laugh.

"The both of you did amazing, go get some rest, you two earned it!" Barlow said with a smile as Luana and I headed into the sleeping quarters, slightly exhausted from today. Luana immediately fell asleep on her bed, while I also drifted off to sleep once my head hit the pillow.

As I looked around, wondering where I was, I realized that I was in Pueltown's port with the Toxicroak, it was about to attack me with its poison gas right as I slipped on a mud puddle, while the admin was nearby with the same metal Styler in his hand. Right when Toxicroak was about to spit poison at me, Luana tackled it, knocking it to its side as she grabbed my hand and tried her best to run away, though the Toxicroak and the admin managed to catch up as it hit me with a Poison Jab while the admin cackled by the Pokémon. Enraged, Luana took the metal Styler the admin was holding and crushed both the metal Styler and his hand, making him cry out in pain. The Toxicroak managed to break free of the mind control as it hopped away, though my injuries from the poison felt severe to the point where I couldn't move. Luana knocked the admin unconscious as she carried me in her arms all the way to the Ranger Depot, being able to get the Toxicroak antidote before I succumbed to my wounds as she started to cry.

"If…if I wasn't so cowardly, you wouldn't have gotten hurt Kellyn. Y-you mean so much to me, I l-love you!" Luana said as she continued to cry, seeing her like this made me weakly walk over to her, as I kissed her on the lips.

I woke up after that as I felt Luana shaking me, her face looked very concerned.

"K-Kellyn? I didn't want to wake you up but you were having a horrible nightmare!" Luana said as she gave me a hug, making my face feel hot.

"Luana, don't worry, I'm glad you're my partner, you helped me by waking me up and I appreciate that! I had a…nightmare that turned into a wonderful dream. It was at Pueltown's port and that Toxicroak was…about to spit poison at me just like yesterday, but…you tackled it and tried running away and even though the Toxicroak managed to hit me with a Poison Jab, you saved me by carrying me all the way to the Ranger Depot and as you started to cry, you said you loved me and I walked over to you and kissed you." I said as I started to sniffle, with a few tears streaming down my face as Luana's face started getting red.

"Kellyn, do you really think if I wasn't there to protect you, that the Toxicroak would have killed you?" Luana said as she wiped away my tears.

"When I saw how it had so much pain and suffering in its eyes from being mind-controlled, I'm certain that if you didn't distract it, it would have killed me." I said.

"Well, I'm glad that I was there for you to keep you safe, also…you kissed me at the end of your nightmare…and I said that I loved you?!" Luana said, blushing.

"Y-yes, I did, that made the nightmare become a great dream." I said as my face felt hot.

"Good, I'm glad you had something good from that nightmare. Let's go outside, I'm sure Barlow is waiting for us." Luana said as we both changed into our Ranger uniforms and headed outside.

"Hello Barlow, good morning!" Luana and I said cheerfully.

"Hi guys, good morning, we've got citizens informing us that…Vien forest is on fire. It's already spread over four acres and it's not going to be extinguished. Crawford is already getting any citizens that are in the forest to stay in Vientown once they're found." Barlow said solemnly.

"F-f-fire?! We'll help out too!" We said, fearfully.

"Kellyn, Luana, it's dangerous, but because of how capable you two are, you can help out anyway you guys can. If you feel like either of your lives are going to be put in danger, please come back out immediately." Barlow said as we nodded and ran out the door.

Upon exiting, Luana and I looked up and saw the Vien forest burning, as people and Pokémon started running out. Crawford eventually came out covered in burns, he had four Happiny that belonged to a family in Vientown.

"Crawford! You need to go back to the Ranger base and get medical treatment now! These burns are severe!" Luana said as Crawford slowly nodded and jogged back to the base.

Feeling relieved that Crawford, some citizens and Pokémon were able to get out safely, Luana and I headed inside the burning forest. Upon entering the forest, there was thick smog all around us, making it hard to see as we attempted to make our way through the forest to find a Pokémon to extinguish it.

"Kellyn, I know of a Pokémon that can use Rain Dance! It's a Blastoise that should be nearby, we have to hurry. I don't want Vien forest to be burned down completely!" Luana said as we both started to run through the forest.

Within no time, Luana and I headed deeper into the forest, fire being prevalent in some areas while the smog got heavier, making me cough violently, causing Luana to look concerned.

"Don't…don't worry Luana, I'll be fine, let's find…that Blastoise." I said as I did my best to keep up with Luana, my breathing feeling strained.

"Kellyn, once we head out of here, I'll make sure you get medical treatment, no matter what." Luana said as we continued running, looking for the Blastoise.

Thankfully, we found it near a river by a small pier, the Blastoise struggling to see. Luana quickly made loops around the Pokémon, catching it within no time. As we were heading back to where most of the fire was, a burning tree fell, I barely noticed it as it was about to fall on Luana and I pushed her out of the way, the fallen tree made me worried for Luana until the Blastoise extinguished the flames. As I climbed over the tree, Luana and I ran even faster to where the fire was occurring.

"Okay Blastoise, use Rain Dance!" Luana said as Blastoise started to rain dance, extinguishing the fire almost instantly as the Blastoise calmly walked back to the river.  
"Luana, you did it! You saved the forest!" I said as I hugged Luana.

"It wasn't just me, it was the Blastoise and you as well. All of us saved the forest!" Luana said as we both walked out of the forest.

"We…all did? I didn't do anything though!" I said, a bit perplexed as Luana giggled.

"You certainly did, if you weren't there to push me out of the way from that burning tree, I would have been killed." Luana said as we walked into the Ranger Union.

"Luana! Kellyn! You guys are back, you both extinguished that fire in only half an hour and Crawford was amazing at helping out citizens and Pokémon in danger. Very impressive! Luana and Kellyn are being promoted to Ranger Rank 4 while Crawford is being promoted to Ranger Rank 3! Great work!" Barlow said as everyone clapped.

"Awesome work guys! By the way…Barlow, who's that man with the brown hair that's tied up? Did he have anything to do with the fire? He…reeks of oil!" Luana whispered.

"That's right, he definitely does have something to do with the fire. Crawford found him trying to run off and thankfully, was able to catch him before he could escape. How about we give him a name like…Oil-reeking-guy?" Barlow said.

"That's an odd name, how about…Ollie, since he smells like oil?" Luana said as we noticed Ollie crack a grin.

"Hahah, did you see him smile? Ollie it is then! So, Ollie, can you tell us if you had anything to do with the fire?" I said, waiting a few minutes as Ollie didn't speak.

"He's not much of a talker, let's leave him tied up until he speaks then. Kellyn and Crawford need to be treated for any burns." Barlow said as Jen started to help Crawford with his wounds, with Jen using a machine to check for any breathing problems caused by smoke inhalation.

After a while, the machine confirmed that Crawford had no breathing issues. Luana made sure that I had no burns or other injuries on me, thankfully, I was okay, but Luana still got a second machine identical to the one Jen used. She put the tube in my mouth and after the machine confirmed I didn't have any lung damage or other respiratory issues, the tube was removed as I breathed a sigh of relief. Elaine was working on taking apart the Gigaremo while she kept looking at Ollie, I glanced over and saw that he was still tied up, he looked quite tired as well.

"Isn't that a bit mean to have him tied up like that? What if he's hungry?" I said.

"Hmm, I can have Big Bertha bring us milk pudding if she wants to. I'll go ahead and ask her." Barlow said as he left the Ranger base.

After a few minutes, Barlow came back with Big Bertha as she had at least ten milk puddings in a container. She happily took them out and was giving them to us when she noticed Ollie.

"Here you go everyone, fresh milk pudding from our happy Miltank! Ah, hello, who might you be? My name is Big Bertha." Big Bertha said with a smile.

"M-my name's Ollie, it's nice to meet you. Can…can I have some of that pudding too? It looks delicious." Ollie said.

"You can give him some if you want, Big Bertha, just put some pudding in his mouth and he'll be fine." Barlow said.

"Barlow! That's very rude of you, he's probably hungry just like the rest of us!" Luana said as she yelled, which made everyone jump as she also proceeded to give Barlow a scowl, which made him start to shiver.

"T-that's probably true, okay, let me untie him." Barlow fearfully said as he removed the ropes from Ollie.

"Here you go Ollie, you can eat as much pudding as you want!" Big Bertha said.

Once the ropes were removed, Big Bertha gave Ollie some milk pudding as he eagerly ate it, happy to have something to eat.

"T-thank you, Big Bertha…that pudding…it was delicious." Ollie said as he started to cry, tears streaming down his face.

After everyone ate their pudding, Big Bertha had to go back to her farm and when she left, Luana and I decided to ask Ollie about the fire while everyone else turned in to go sleep.

"Hi Ollie, my name is Kellyn and this is Luana. It's nice to meet you, can you please tell us about the fire and how it happened? Luana and I won't treat you harshly." I said as Ollie looked at the ground.

"O-okay, I was paid by some guys called Team Dim Sun. They said all I had to do was fill up these machines with fuel, I was informed that it was to collect soil composition. When I was filling up the fuel, some of it spilled on the ground and then the fire just…happened." Ollie said, tearing up.

"Thank you Ollie, do you mind telling Barlow in the morning? He won't be angry or anything, considering that it was an accident." Luana said.

"I'll tell him, thanks Kellyn, thanks Luana." Ollie said.

"You're welcome, make sure you get some sleep. Good night Ollie." Luana and I said.

"Hahah, I will, thanks guys. Good night." Ollie said as he slept in the bed Elaine put for him.

Luana and I headed into our own beds as we immediately fell asleep due to exhaustion. When it was morning, we both headed outside and saw Ollie talking with Barlow, with Crawford, Elaine and Jen nearby.

"I understand, thank you Ollie. You're free to go considering that it was an accident, I'm glad Kellyn and Luana were able to talk with you about it." Barlow said.

"Good morning everyone!" Luana said as I tiredly waved.

"Good morning! As you guys heard, since you both spoke with Ollie and convinced him to tell us what really occurred, he's free to go." Barlow said.

"Actually, I would like to stay here and work at the Ranger Base…if that's okay." Ollie said as he quickly glanced over at Elaine.

"You want to work here? I like the sound of that, welcome aboard Ollie!" Barlow said as we all clapped.

The rest of the day involved Luana and I fixing up the Ranger base and doing some maintenance as well as picking up trash around some roads, such as the road leading to the Ranger School, we did this until the evening. As Luana and I were walking around that evening, we also saw Elaine and Ollie walking together, which made us smile. Many people came up to us, thanking us and saying that Luana and I accomplished some amazing things together such as finding out why the Pokémon of Pueltown were acting strange and extinguishing the Vien forest fire. While we appreciated the kind words, we respectfully told the citizens that we were mainly happy that the Pokémon and people were safe. Luana and I headed back to the Ranger base to go to bed early as we needed to regain our energy from going into the Vien forest and dealing with all the fire and smoke along the way.

Only a few days after Ollie joined the Ranger base to work with us, Luana and I woke up and saw that only Crawford was there, Barlow, Ollie, Elaine and Jen weren't anywhere to be seen.

"Hi guys, good morning. For today, I'll be the leader of the Ranger Base since…Barlow…Barlow's gone missing. The Ranger Union informed me that he was last at the Boyle volcano as he was teaching some people about the dangers of Fire Pokémon. Since all the other Rangers are apparently doing missions and quests, they're having a Staraptor take the both of you to Boyle volcano, it's already outside. Good luck you two!" Crawford said.

"Barlow's missing?! We have to help him right away! Let's go Luana!" I said as we raced outside and jumped on the Staraptor as it carried us to Boyle island. After some flying, Staraptor dropped us off at Boyle island as it started to head back to the Ranger Union.

"Kellyn, we have to be careful in Boyle volcano, the Pokémon in here are dangerous and they'll attack us if they see us." Luana said as we headed inside.

"Don't worry Luana, we'll find Barlow soon enough!" I said.

After a short while, Luana and I headed deep into the volcano, we both thought it was odd that there were no Pokémon in the volcano, but soon enough, we heard a grunt laughing to himself about how smart he was to get his Charmeleon to drag a boulder somewhere in the volcano. As we went to where the grunt was, he noticed us and started to laugh.

"Hahah, you two Rangers are going to get killed by my Charmeleon, thanks to this new Miniremo, we won't have to break our backs moving them around!" The grunt said as he attacked us with his Charmeleon.

After dodging the Charmeleon's fire for a bit, with Luana cheering me on, I was able to capture it as it went back to its habitat, the grunt storming off in a rage.


	3. Chapter 3: A Volcano and a Ship

Disclaimer: I still don't own Pokemon!

Chapter 3: A volcano and a ship

As we walked a little bit further into the volcano, we noticed the boulder the Team Dim Sun member mentioned, as Luana and I walked up to the boulder and were talking about what Pokémon could be used to destroy it, the same Team Dim Sun member ambushed us near the location where we were informed Barlow's Styler last was. The grunt tried pushing me into the giant boulder as he was angry that he had his Miniremo break due to his controlled Charmeleon being caught by me. The grunt was able to knock me into the boulder and while it did hurt, it was nothing that made it feel like it became fractured or broken, I'm glad the grunt didn't manage to break it, since I wouldn't be able to capture any Pokémon with a damaged shoulder as I did my best to ignore the pain.

Considering that the grunt was gloating about the slight pain he caused me, he didn't notice Luana at all, however that didn't end so well for him. Luana became absolutely enraged and had a terrifying scowl on her face and once the grunt noticed Luana, he tried running away, though Luana was able to easily corner him. The grunt started to cower in fear after he eventually noticed how angry she was as Luana went over to him and proceeded to knock the grunt out with no effort, as for that giant boulder covering their steel door, it took only one punch from Luana to break that boulder into pebbles. My eyes widened because I would say that she beat even Big Bertha when it comes to strength and power, we didn't even need a Pokémon to do a Target Clear on that boulder and it was gigantic! After I tried to recover from the injury, Luana gave me a concerned look since she was worried that I got seriously hurt.

"How badly does it hurt? Are you able to move your shoulder around?" Luana said with sadness in her voice.

"Don't worry, that grunt wasn't able to hurt me too badly, if he used more strength, I would have probably been useless and unable to help you at all." I said as I gave Luana a small smile.

Luana looked a bit upset when she heard me say that, at first I wasn't too sure why she seemed so upset, but then I understood why…it was because of how much she was concerned about me.

"Kellyn, you're not useless at all, you're an awesome person whose friendly and caring. I think you're a great Ranger, now let's go get a Pelipper to help with that wound." Luana said as she started to blush a bit.

Afterwards, Luana captured a Pelipper that was just outside as she promptly had it use water gun on a towel that was in her pocket and then ordered it to use ice beam to freeze the towel solid and afterwards, she released the Pelipper.

I'm not too sure if it was because of how close Luana was to me, or if it was the heat of the volcano, but we were both blushing a lot. Luana was like a Tamato berry when she got close to me in order to put the towel on my shoulder underneath my Ranger clothes and made sure it stayed in place until some of the pain eventually wore off, as she did so, I couldn't help but look into her gorgeous hazel eyes when she was helping me and I gave her a hug as thanks.

"Thank you for helping me out Luana, let's head back to the steel door." I said, feeling my face get hot.

"Y-you're welcome Kellyn, I'm ready when you are." Luana said as she continued to blush heavily.

Luana and I passed by the grunt that was still on the floor as we heard him mumbling to himself that his nose was broken. We couldn't help but chuckle a bit at that, I knew Luana was strong, but her breaking the guy's nose and that boulder made me know just how powerful she was.

"Remind me to never get you angry, I wouldn't want to have a broken nose up like him!" I said with gratitude in my voice.

I was rather worried about being able to deal with that grunt since he could have easily knocked me unconscious if I wasn't with Luana or even have his Charmeleon burn me if he wanted to.

"Kellyn, you have nothing to be worried about, you're important to me." Luana said with her trademark grin and a noticeable blush on her face.

We then proceeded to open the steel door and as we did so, I couldn't help but think how beautiful Luana truly is, even as we headed through the door to their secret dock, I could see just how gorgeous she looked even in the dim lighting, her eyes were shining with this amazing brilliance and even though we were storming the area that Team Dim Sun's ship was, I just had to smile and admire how determined she was.

"We have to be careful here, there's no telling how many Dim Sun grunts are around this dock." I said with caution in my voice. Luana can't get hurt, not now, not ever.

Luana nodded and with a determined look on her face, more than I've ever seen anyone have, stealthily hid from the two guards that were walking around the shipping containers while I followed her the best I can. While I was doing so, I couldn't help but realize how great she is, first she destroys a boulder with one punch, then she was able to help with my shoulder which isn't hurting as much compared to before and she's extremely stealthy, why was she an Area Ranger and not a Top Ranger?

'_It doesn't make sense, why would they guard their port that can transport hundreds of Pokémon at a time with only two people?'_ I thought.

After we passed the two guards, we saw a small table at the back of the room with five guards that were sound asleep, Luana and I smirked as we saw the ship and were about to enter it when we saw a Dim Sun admin appear.

"What are two people doing in this port, especially dressed like Rangers? This area is for members of Team Dim Sun only! Hey guards, wake up!" The admin said with a mixture of surprise and anger.

As the five guards started to wake up, I heard the two guards from earlier start to run to where we were as a loudspeaker announced that the ship will be leaving in one minute and any personnel not on the ship will be left behind. After we heard this, Luana and I knew we had to hurry, as the guards sleepily walked over to where the admin was, the two other guards collided with them, making them all fall down. This made the admin start yelling at them, Luana quickly pushed the admin in the water and we ran inside the boat, with the ship boarding gate closing after only a few seconds.

We both breathed a sigh of relief since most of the area had shipping containers which concealed us, however, we soon heard a Dim Sun grunt and an admin talking about the Kingston valve and how it shouldn't ever be opened, otherwise, the ship will sink. Luana and I took this as our cue to hide from them in an empty barrel, we quickly overturned it and went inside, making sure not to make a noise or drop our Stylers.

"Hm, you know, I shouldn't be drinking so much coffee, it's making me so anxious and I can't stay still when I do drink it." A grunt said.

"Yeah, how about you not talk so much either? Let's go over to the control room, the boss needs us to help him with controlling this ship." The annoyed Dim Sun admin said.

"Fine, fine, why did the boss even need these Pokémon anyway?" The grunt said as they continued to walk away from us.

"Man, are you dense? He needs these Pokémon so he can control them to do whatever he wants!" The admin stated.

It became harder to hear them as they eventually started to run to the control room, however, I was more focused on Luana, she was listening intently, but I couldn't help feel a small blush on my face while she also did the same considering how close we were in this barrel together. After we were certain they were gone, Luana and I lifted up the barrel and walked deeper into the ship. Right away, we could see a few Pokémon wandering around that strangely weren't mind controlled yet, there wasn't a Gigaremo in sight and there weren't any grunts around either. We were on the right ship, but Luana and I would have expected there to be more mind-controlled Pokémon, but we didn't find any so far. Luana noticed a pair of Luxray and we each captured one, all the while avoiding their electricity as they tried to break or damage our capture lines.

"Great capture Kellyn, those Luxray weren't too bad!" Luana said with a smile.

"Haha, thanks, you were pretty great too! I wonder though, how come none of the Pokémon we encountered so far were mind controlled? Those Raichu and that Mime Jr. were just wandering around and all of them actually seemed like they wanted to play." I said with noticeable confusion.

"Maybe these grunts either don't know what they're doing or they're just lazy! That would make sense considering those guards from the port were just asleep." Luana said with a snicker.

"That could be possible, either way, let's try to find out who's running this ship and where Barlow could be!" I started to walk forward with Luana when I heard a rumble and the entire ship started to shake, knocking us into one of the shipping containers. As I attempted to regain my footing, the last thing I saw was a large box falling towards us and I remembered pushing Luana out of the way so the box wouldn't hurt her either, after that, I saw the box falling towards me.

-Luana's POV-

During the rumble, I felt myself getting pushed and I quickly regained my footing afterwards and I turned around to see what happened to Kellyn after the rumbling stopped and I barely saw him on the ground with a gigantic box over him.

In fear of Kellyn being seriously hurt, a surge of adrenaline and the need to protect him overcame me and I easily moved the large box that was on top of him, while it was incredibly heavy, I had to make sure that Kellyn didn't get hurt too badly. I noticed he had a large bruise on his head, but I had to get him out of harm's way, if any of those Team Dim Sun grunts or mind-controlled Pokémon come through where we were, Kellyn would be done for and I would never let that happen.

I ended up finding a small room that was in the general area of the shipping containers, there were a few boxes and chairs in here but after looking inside, all of the boxes were empty. I carried Kellyn inside the room as both Luxray followed us inside, after making sure the coast was clear, I put Kellyn on a chair and locked the door so none of those grunts could find us. I examined his shoulder where I placed the frozen towel earlier and saw that the small bruise there was much better, so I removed the towel that was still frozen and placed it on Kellyn's forehead.

"Poor Kellyn, he pushed me out of the way so that box wouldn't hurt the both of us and now he's unconscious. If any of those Dim Sun grunts break open the locked door, I'll protect you Kellyn, I promise." I said with determination in my voice.

Making sure Kellyn stayed safe from further harm wasn't the problem, the main issue was wondering if those grunts would be coming by this area. Kellyn seemed to be regaining consciousness slowly, but he shouldn't strain himself by capturing many Pokémon depending on how badly he got injured. However, I was ecstatic when after a few seconds, Kellyn fully regained consciousness and when he saw how close I was to him while tending to his wound, he started to blush so red that a Tamato berry would have competition.

_'__Did he just blush? Does Kellyn have a crush on me just like I do with him?'_ I thought to myself, Kellyn has been blushing ever since he first saw me at the Vientown Ranger Base.

"Thank you Luana, you really saved me back there, I'm glad you're my Ranger partner because I know that if I came alone, I would have been done for." Kellyn said with a smile as we both got up to head to the door.

"No problem Kellyn, that's what us Rangers do, we help out Pokémon, the environment and each other!" I said, returning the brilliant smile he gave me.  
"That's true, having a dedicated partner is important, especially one as awesome as you!" Kellyn said.

"It's too bad we're not a couple, you're too adorable Kellyn." I muttered, blushing fiercely.

"Hmm? What did you say Luana? I couldn't hear you." Kellyn said, sounding very confused.

My eyes widened a bit upon realizing that Kellyn almost heard what I said, thankfully he couldn't see my surprised look since my back was to him. I opened the door after listening to the other side and making sure that no one was walking around. I was hoping that Kellyn didn't hear me and that he didn't notice.

"I-I didn't say anything Kellyn, maybe you just imagined it?" I said, still blushing from earlier.

"No, I'm pretty certain that I heard you say someone was adorable, that's rather interesting, I didn't know you had a fondness for anyone, so do I! Who's the lucky guy? Is it me?" Kellyn said as he smiled, I couldn't help but do the same as well, even the Luxray smiled.

"T-there is someone I like, but it's a secret!" I said as Kellyn blushed slightly.

Kellyn's so charming, it would be nice if he felt the same way that I did for him but then again, we do keep getting close to each other and we do blush quite often, so perhaps he does? Kellyn did say he was fond of someone, maybe I should ask him once we find Barlow and get out of this ship.

As we continued walking past the shipping containers, I was being observant and making sure there were no heavy items that could fall on Kellyn, myself or the Luxray. We finally saw a door at the very end and to our surprise, it was unlocked. Kellyn entered first and made sure everything was clear but then he let out a slight gasp upon entering. I rushed in with the Luxray following us and noticed two blue Gigaremos controlling eight Pokémon and had them walking around in a circle. Immediately, Kellyn and I ordered the Luxray to use thunderbolt on the Gigaremos and I became absolutely enraged even after the Gigaremos were destroyed, we then released the Luxray and thanked them for their assistance.

_'__Team Dim Sun will do anything to control all Pokémon, they're even worse than the Go-Rock Squad and the Pokémon Pinchers combined.' _I thought to myself with my anger steadily rising, I started to grit my teeth because of everything that these villainous teams are doing to Pokémon and the other individuals that were capturing Pokémon for money, the Pokémon hunters.

As I continued forward with my anger seething inside and out, I could tell Kellyn started to notice and he certainly looked worried. People who try to sell Pokémon for money after those same Pokémon have been abused, tortured and experimented on...they disgust me. It's different when it comes to Pokémon trainers or Pokémon Rangers, we treat our Pokémon with love, care and understanding, whether we ask them for help temporarily or they're our partners for life, there are very few Pokémon trainers or Pokémon Rangers who actually don't love or respect their Pokémon.

"Luana, what's wrong? Did seeing those Pokémon suffering get you upset too?" Kellyn said with a mixture of rage and concern in his voice.

"It certainly did make me very upset Kellyn, to the point that it made my blood boil. Those Pokémon were being treated horribly and they're still going to suffer because of Team Dim Sun." I said, holding back most of my rage.

"I understand why you feel that way, but don't worry Luana, you and I will do everything we can to help as much Pokémon as possible. With you by my side, I don't feel scared, I feel like I can accomplish anything with you!" Kellyn said as he held my hands with his, my anger instead being replaced with a noticeable blush on my face.

"R-really Kellyn? I mean that much to you?" I couldn't help but stammer, after hearing what Kellyn thinks about me, I was ecstatic.

"Of course you mean that much to me Luana, you're the greatest Ranger I know!" Kellyn said with a smile, a blush forming over his face as well.

"Thanks Kellyn, that's what I needed to hear, let's go get those Dim Sun goons!" I said as I pumped my fist into the air. Getting a pep talk from Kellyn replaced my feelings of being enraged to becoming joyful and I was ready to fight by Kellyn's side and protect him no matter what.

As we continued walking throughout the ship, we had to destroy only four Gigameros, it was odd though, there were no Dim Sun grunts to be seen, if all of them were at the control room, that would be a nearly impossible battle.

Eventually we came to a hallway with an Electabuzz and I captured it flawlessly, partly because I wanted to find Barlow and have the Electabuzz help us out, but also because I wanted to impress Kellyn.

"Wow that was a really quick capture, are you trying to compete with me? There might be some Rangers that have a lot of captures but I think that your swiftness is still amazing, I always knew that you were great!" Kellyn said with admiration in his voice.

_'__So Kellyn thinks I'm quick at capturing and good at it too? He sure knows how to make me feel good.' _I thought to myself with a smile.

"Thank you Kellyn, that's one of the nicest things anyone has said to me and I can't thank you enough, most of the other Rangers put me down and that really makes me feel like I'm a horrible Ranger." I said feeling a bit down afterwards, I felt bad if Kellyn took pity on me, at the same time, it still made me feel sad that people are so rude to me just because of I'm a bit clumsy sometimes.

Kellyn was silent as we walked through the hallway and entered the door at the end of it. I could tell from his expression and how somber he was that he wasn't angry at me, more or less he was annoyed at the other rangers who were so rude to me for no reason.

As we saw another small hallway that went left and right, we decided to go right and found a dark room where we immediately had the Electabuzz use Flash to brighten up this room. Kellyn and I saw Barlow in the center of the room and were wondering why he didn't make any noise until we realized that he was fast asleep, snoring loudly.

"Thanks for your help Electabuzz, come on Luana, let's go remove those ropes from Barlow." Kellyn said with eagerness in his voice.

"Luana?! Kellyn?! You guys came all this way to rescue me? How could I ever thank the both of you?" Barlow said as he looked like he was about to cry.

Kellyn and I looked at each other and said, "How about when we're out of here, you get us some of Big Bertha's milk pudding?"

"Hah! I'll be more than happy to do that!" Barlow said with a smile.

After we removed the rope from Barlow, we tried opening the door at the back of the room and unsurprisingly, it wouldn't open. I suggested to Barlow to do a Target Clear and he gave a quick nod, just as Kellyn and I backed up near the entrance to give Barlow some space, the door opened and we saw a Team Dim Sun grunt, this one looked angrier than the rest of them, was he the same guy who tried pushing Kellyn into the boulder?

"You two! My cousin told me that some foolish Ranger girl broke his nose just because he tried pushing her stupid boyfriend into a boulder! The both of you came to rescue that other Ranger too?! Man, you three are really getting me angry, wait until the boss hears about this!" The grunt said as he was shaking with rage and tried getting his Miniremo out with one hand while he attempted to attack Kellyn with a weak punch.

Unfortunately for him, I was faster than he was as I knocked him out with an uppercut, still fuming, I obliterated his Miniremo with my hands while I proceeded to kick the door down as it folded in quickly. I calmed down after realizing Kellyn and Barlow were both safe and that the grunt was unconscious, at least for a while.

"Let's go guys, those Pokémon need our help!" I said, full of adrenaline.

Kellyn and Barlow looked at each other and then at me with both of them flashing a grin.

"You're right, let's do this!" Kellyn and Barlow shouted in unison.

We proceeded into the hallway and passed the destroyed door and I decided to open another door as we all went inside, what we saw was interesting and rather strange.

"I don't even know what to say, this room…is Mr. Kincaid's room, he was my Ranger school teacher but Ms. April said that he went on leave for a while. He always struck me as scary and odd but the fact that he's working with Team Dim Sun is terrifying." Kellyn said with a shiver as we quickly exited the room.

"The fact that someone posed as a teacher who taught how to teach Pokémon to be treated with love and then do the opposite is sickening, let's go pay this Kincaid a visit." I said with anger clear in my voice. We had to be quick about it, there's no telling where they're taking this ship or what they'll do with the Pokémon on board.

"That's right, if someone was using the Ranger school to push their agenda of controlling Pokémon, they need to have a little chat with us Rangers." Barlow said, shocked and surprised someone can be so cruel to Pokémon.

"I don't know where the control room is, but I hope we get there soon, helping out these Pokémon are a top priority as well as trying to bring in Kincaid for what he's done!" Kellyn said, looking at me with a smile as we continued to run down the hallway.


	4. Chapter 4: Kellyn's Injury and Recovery

**Disclaimer: I don't own****Pokemon**.

Chapter 4: Kellyn's injury and recovery

As we turned a corner, we saw yet another door and just like the one leading to Kincaid's room, this one was unlocked. When I opened it, I could feel the sun's heat and the breeze and since this led to the outside of the ship, the control room isn't too far! Kellyn, Barlow and I went on the deck and when we spotted the control room, we noticed someone was moving inside. That had to be Kincaid! The door opened as the Ranger School traitor stepped out into the cool breeze, with him not noticing us as we slipped behind a wall.

"Hmph, none of the losers down below got back to me yet, what's taking them so long?" Kincaid said with a look of annoyance on his face.

"Luana, Barlow, do either of you know how to steer this ship?" Kellyn whispered to us while also looking out for Kincaid to make sure he didn't come this way as he kept muttering to himself.

"I know how to steer a boat, nothing of this size but I can try. Knowing Kincaid, he'll most likely have a Miniremo like those grunts downstairs so there's no telling what Pokémon he'll have." I said in a hushed tone.

"Maybe Kellyn and you can distract Kincaid by engaging him in a battle, it's hard to know if those grunts you knocked out are still unconscious, I also haven't steered a boat this big, though I've steered a couple of boats in the past, but Kincaid shouldn't be hard for you two." Barlow said.

We nodded and walked behind Kincaid as we heard him yelling on his radio asking his grunts where they were and why they hadn't show up to ambush the Rangers.

"Looks like I have to do everything myself, whether I win or lose, this ship is going down but I won't be on it." Kincaid said with no emotion or concern for the crew or Pokémon that were on board.

Kincaid pulled out his Miniremo and ordered his Gliscor to search the boat for any signs of his grunts or the Rangers, if any of them were found, unconscious, dead or sleeping on the job, they were to be brought to the deck.

The Gliscor understood the orders given and was about to leave, until it noticed Kellyn, Barlow and I, with Barlow almost at the door, I had no idea what the Gliscor would have done. Gliscor made a shrill screech which made Kincaid turn around. As Kincaid turned to us, I saw that I was face to face with an emotionless, hate filled person, bent on capturing Pokémon at any cost no matter who died.

"Hmph, so the Rangers tried to be stealthy and storm the ship while also taking out any grunts, I assume? Well then, Gliscor, attack those Rangers with no mercy, anyone in the way of Team Dim Sun's plans shall perish!" Kincaid said, glaring at Kellyn and I.

Kincaid then typed in a command on his Miniremo which summoned a Drapion that had as much emotion as Kincaid.

"Drapion, make sure to capture that strong Ranger by the door, he's been nothing but a nuisance the entire time." Kincaid said with a calm demeanor.

With the Gliscor trying to attack us, Kellyn and I were seemingly in trouble, until I realized that Barlow didn't have his Makuhita with him, that was Barlow's partner Pokémon while Kellyn's Pachirisu was back at the Ranger base in Vientown, where it's probably still asleep. My Buneary was still being taken care of by Jen, the operator. After Barlow was able to capture the Drapion, he ran up to the Gliscor and started waving his hands around by trying to confuse it. Kincaid didn't like this at all and tried to keep Barlow from moving around so much but all that did for Kincaid was end up with him getting a black eye from me in his attempts to make sure his Gliscor didn't get captured.

"Stupid Ranger, you'll pay for that!" Kincaid said while getting angrier with Barlow's distractions while I did what I can to keep Kincaid away from Kellyn. Thankfully, Kellyn was able to capture Gliscor after avoiding its mud puddles and tackles.

"Capture Complete." Kellyn said with a grin.

"Great work Kellyn, now let's get Kincaid tied up!" I said as I started running to Kincaid with the intention of tying him up with the same rope that he used on Barlow. However, it appeared that Kincaid had other ideas as he finally got his radio working to get any grunts to move the Kingston valve.

"To any grunts that are conscious, remove the plug and prepare to swim." Kincaid said briskly as he started to run away.

"You're done Kincaid, it's time someone brought you in to the Ranger Union!" I said with ferocity in my voice as I prepared to lunge at Kincaid as I was the closest to him.

However, he smirked and picked up speed and continued to the front of the ship as I chased after him with Kellyn right behind me while Barlow went to the control room, I noticed Kincaid was removing a Miniremo from a hidden pocket in his coat and he proceeded to enter a command for a Pokémon.

_What Pokémon is he going to ask for now, doesn't he know when to give up? _I shook my head in annoyance wondering what Pokémon we'll have to face now.

I didn't have to wait for long as a Skarmory came flying down with Kincaid jumping from the front of the ship to where the Skarmory waited for him. He started to laugh manically while the Skamory flew up and Kincaid taunted us from the air.

"Hah, idiotic Rangers, the ship may be lost but I've still won! Now to give you and Kellyn your final lessons…" Kincaid said ominously.

We heard loud roars and saw two Aerodactyls, with both of them getting ready to attack us with their large wings. As they flew towards us, I was barely able to dodge the first one, while Kellyn was able to dodge the other Aerodactyl. Since one of the Aerodactyls was confused after missing the first wing attack, I decided to capture it, making it a bit easier to dodge the other Aerodactyl as the first one flew away, back to its habitat. After I captured one of them, I saw Kincaid was already far away from us on the Skarmory and I knew that there's no way we could catch him, his hateful laughter ringing in my ears. However, I had something more important to focus on, as the Aerodactyl was starting to fly around in order to come back a second time with its wing attacks ready for Kellyn and I. This time, I was able to dodge the wing attack but Kellyn couldn't do so in time. After the Aerodactyl's attack, it needed to rest as it started to lower itself to the ship's deck.

Something that was my priority was for Kellyn, Barlow and the Pokémon's safety while also dealing with the Aerodactyl. I used this opportunity to capture the Aerodactyl and right as I did so, it let out another roar, this sparked something in me which made me determined to capture it faster than any other capture I've done before, knowing that if the Aerodactyl tried going for Kellyn, Barlow or I, there's no telling how ferocious its attacks would continue to be. Thankfully, the Aerodactyl still wasn't a match for me as I was able to capture it without any issue. The Aerodactyl flew back to wherever it came from and now that dealing with that threat was over with, I had to find out where Kellyn was.

After some searching, I was able to find Kellyn relatively quickly, he was passed out by the same door that led us out here in the first place, I could him breathing, but it was very strained. That Aerodactyl hurt him terribly and I should have protected Kellyn. I ran inside with Kellyn in my arms and asked Barlow how he was doing on the ship and he said everything was good but just then, we heard a radio transmission from a grunt that said the Kingston valve was removed just in time.

"Great, Kincaid abandoned his ship and crew just when I was starting to get the hang of steering this boat, I'll keep watch over Kellyn. Luana, try to find a way to make sure that water doesn't flood the ship." Barlow said with a worried tone.

"I thought all of the grunts left or were knocked out, I'll go down to the Kingston valve and do what I can!" I said as I ran out of the control room all the way down to where the valve was, there were no crew members from what I could see but there was a Machoke still on the ship. I swiftly captured it after dodging its punches and ran to where the Kingston valve was, water was coming in fast, so I asked the Machoke to push it where it originally was while I assisted it.

Thankfully, with some effort, the Kingston valve went back into place, with water just about reaching the top of the staircase. I thanked the Machoke for its help and told it to stay with me until the ship was able to be docked. As I was running back up to the control room and checked inside any rooms that could be opened, I still didn't see any grunts or admins which made me annoyed because that meant they all escaped and I was hoping to bring them in for questioning about where they planned to take the Pokémon. The only Pokémon I encountered were the same Luxray and the Raichu from earlier, I didn't see the Mime Jr. around no matter where I looked so I went ahead and captured the Pokémon that I found to bring them to the control room where they'll be safer with us, just in the event the ship ends up crashing into something.

When I reached the control room, I had the Pokémon enter first with me being right behind them, I could breathe a sigh of relief since Barlow was controlling the ship rather well, along with the main problem being Kellyn still unconscious. I looked around for a chair and found one off to the side and placed Kellyn on the chair, while his breathing was much better than before, the fact that he hasn't regained consciousness really concerned me. I figured that asking Barlow on how Kellyn was doing would be the best idea.

"Barlow, you're doing a great job steering this ship but how has Kellyn been doing since I left? Has he woken up at all or shown any signs of improvement?" I asked, wringing my hands with worry.

"Hahah, Luana, you've got a good head on your shoulders, Kellyn is doing just fine. He actually passed out from exhaustion because of all the missions that he's been doing, he woke up earlier when you were down in the ship's hull and when I told him you were trying to put the Kingston valve back into place, Kellyn tried to run and help you and I actually had to hold him back because I assured him that you'll be able to get it done, especially because of how Kellyn talks so highly of you." Barlow said with a grin on his face.

"I'm glad Kellyn's doing good now, the fact that he passed out from exhaustion makes me sad to hear. I'm so concerned about him, I hope he recovers soon...wait, Kellyn talks highly of…me?!" I said with shock being clear in my voice.

Barlow nodded and said, "Yes he does Luana, I've never heard of anyone complimenting another person for being so brave or courageous in the face of danger, even the guy who met his girlfriend by Nabiki beach is jealous because of how much Kellyn gushes about you."

I looked over at the exhausted Kellyn and noticed him whispering something, I couldn't hear what he was saying even when I leaned in closer. I held Kellyn's hand briefly for comfort so when he wakes up, he'll be able to see me smiling at me, however, I felt myself blushing so I immediately took my hand off of his, but after I did that, Kellyn instantly grabbed my hand and held it firmly so I wouldn't let go. I was surprised because someone as amazing and kind as him treated me so respectfully when a few of the other Rangers didn't, I was speechless for a while until Barlow broke the silence.

"I also have to ask, Luana, you have a crush on Kellyn, don't you? Everyone at the Vientown Ranger base noticed it or felt that you had a crush on him because of the starry-eyed way you looked at Kellyn when you first saw him and the way Kellyn shared the exact same look when he first saw you immediately made me knew that he felt the same way." Barlow said.

"I definitely do have a crush on Kellyn but was it really that obvious to everyone in the Vientown Ranger base? When I first saw Kellyn's smile, I felt like no matter what, I had to protect his smile. I thought that no one knew how much I care about Kellyn, though I will admit that whenever he's in danger, such as in this horrible cargo ship, my anger increases so much that if anyone even attempts to attack Kellyn, they'll immediately run after seeing me." I said with a grimace, remembering all the grunts I beat up who dared tried harming Kellyn when he wasn't expecting it or when he was already injured.

"Well, your strength when you're not pumped with adrenaline is still scary, do you remember that time you beat Big Bertha in lifting those heavy Gigaremos? You were able to lift four of those without breaking a sweat, while Big Bertha and Kellyn could carry one and I couldn't even try making one budge, in a day you became the strongest person in Almia! On the plus side, I'm also glad you were able to tell someone about your love for Kellyn, we're going to reach land in maybe ten minutes or so at a small port, just in time too, it looks like Kellyn's slowly waking up!" Barlow said with joy in his voice.

I turned around and saw Kellyn starting to open his eyelids slowly, I started to cry tears of joy and smiled because I realized that he'll be okay despite his injuries. As Kellyn started to look around, he noticed how tightly he had his hand intertwined with mine and started to blush, upon realizing I was still holding Kellyn's hand, I felt a bit shy.

"I-I'm so sorry Kellyn, I thought with all the injures you've sustained, you would need someone to comfort you, so I stayed by your side. I w-was so worried about you, I didn't know how bad your head injury was but when Barlow told me that you were fine, I…I felt so relieved!" I said as I started to cry.

Kellyn looked at me and started to cry as well, at first I was confused but then I realized that he was worried because of what could have happened to me. Even as Kellyn continued to cry, he still held my hand.

"No need to be sorry Luana, I don't mind. I was probably…just as worried about you as you were about me. If something happened to you, I would be so sad and I wouldn't even know what to do." Kellyn said while we both continued to sob and eventually pull each other into an embrace.

Eventually, we both stopped crying and just hugged each other for a little while, it felt nice to be so close to Kellyn, even if it's for a short amount of time, knowing that he's safe and happy is what matters to me. When we finished the hug, we looked into each other's eyes, and I saw Kellyn's hazel eyes, full of hope.

_'__Don't worry Kellyn, I'll be more than happy to tell you about how I like you once we dock this ship.'_ I thought to myself.

I must have had a silly look on my face because Kellyn started laughing and Barlow joined in too, seeing the two of them laugh just made me start laughing as well and even though the ship was about to dock, we were enjoying ourselves.

"Okay guys, you cleared your mission and most importantly, Luana was able to move the Kingston valve so that the ship didn't fill up with water and the Pokémon were able to be rescued. Now get ready for us to dock, we'll be landing hard." Barlow said with glee.

"I'm glad that the Pokémon are all safe! Wait...I thought you knew how to dock a ship!" I said somewhat stunned.

"I do, but this is a big ship! I figured since one of you knew this ship better than me, getting one of you to go down there would be the safer option, besides, you guys know I can't stand deep water." Barlow said sheepishly.

"Looks like we'll have to find a safe spot in this control room so that the impact doesn't makes us run into any of this equipment, maybe we can huddle in that corner over there. Barlow, did you contact the Ranger base or the Ranger Union on how the mission went?" Kellyn said.

Kellyn and I ran to a corner of the control room that appeared to be safe, with no equipment or boxes around. The Pokémon that I previously caught went to another corner that was also empty, huddling together to stay safe.

"That's right, I contacted both of them and informed them that Luana and you saved me and the Pokémon as well, now prepare yourselves, we're about to make land at a small port in five minutes, brace yourselves!" Barlow said with a yell.

Kellyn and I also huddled closer together in order to brace for the impact and as I looked up at him, he started to blush because of how close we were. As we started to head closer to the small dock, which looked very familiar, Kellyn gave me a tight embrace which immediately made his face go red, while mine did the same. Kellyn then buried his face close to me and he started shivering, I assume it was due to fear since none of us knew how badly the ship was going to crash.

"Don't worry Kellyn, I'm here for you, I'll do my best to make sure that you stay safe." I said with a smile.

"Thanks Luana, the same goes for me, you're a wonderful partner and I'll protect you the best I can. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't know what I could accomplish." Kellyn said.

When I heard Kellyn say that, I felt absolutely heartbroken that he didn't think he could succeed without me, I'm fairly certain he didn't even need me but then I realized that with how much he was shaking and holding me so tightly, I understood that if anything, he needed me more than ever. Kellyn putting himself down wasn't an option and I'll do whatever I can to cheer him up.

"We're making landfall, watch your heads!" Barlow said right before the ship plummeted into a small dock.

Thankfully, staying in the corner was a good choice for us and the Pokémon, while Barlow was a bit shaken up, we didn't end up with any injuries, however, the impact did make Kellyn fall on me. Kellyn quickly noticed and got up after both of us started being flustered from being close, just like how we were previously.

"Ah, s-sorry Luana, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Kellyn said with worry in his voice.

"Don't worry Kellyn, I don't have a scratch on me, but you certainly got a lot of bumps and bruises. I'll ask Barlow if I can take you to the Ranger Union since we don't have any medical facilities in the Vientown Ranger Base." I said to Kellyn as he proceeded to help me up. I shyly took his hand and we noticed Barlow was speaking to the Ranger Union about us docking the ship.

"Murph, we need you over here as soon as you can, we have all the Pokémon from the ship but Kellyn got injured quite a bit! You're already here? Great!" Barlow said as he hanged up his Styler and quickly ran out of the control room on to the deck.

"Barlow, wait! Kellyn's been hurt, he needs help!" I said to Barlow, but when I looked, he was already out the door.

_'__Man, Barlow just can't sit still in one place for too long, I was trying to tell him how hurt Kellyn is.'_ I thought with slight annoyance.

I noticed that Kellyn had no issues with standing or helping me up, but when it came to him attempting to walk, he was limping. I had to help Kellyn, so after Barlow got all the Pokémon outside and had them jump from the deck of the ship, which was only about three feet higher than the land itself, I gently lifted Kellyn up and walked out to the deck of the ship and smelled the air, it was crisp and cool outside and the sun was beginning to set, seeing this beautiful view was better than being in the ship. After I headed out of the control room with Kellyn in my arms, I noticed his breathing was heavy and seemed strained.

"Kellyn? Kellyn, what's wrong? Are your injuries worse than you thought?" I said with worry coming over me.

I knew he had the bruise from when he saved me as well as the shoulder injury he received earlier and the injuries that he got from the Aerodactyl, Kellyn also had a lot of emotional and physical trauma from his recent missions, such as putting out the Vientown Forest fire and solving the mystery of why the Pueltown Pokémon were acting so strange. Of course, these problems were due to Team Dim Sun and their desire to control every Pokémon no matter who got injured or died in the process.

"I'm not sure what the reason for my leg injury is, but Luana…please don't leave me. You have to be with me in the Ranger Union's medical room, I know I'll be safe with you." Kellyn said as he looked at me with a small smile.

"You have nothing to fear Kellyn, I'll be with you! I'll tell Barlow right now since Murph is already here!" I said as I felt my voice shaking, though I knew I had to be strong…for Kellyn.

I ran with Kellyn in my arms all the way to the edge of the deck and jumped off. I noticed we were at the Ranger School right by the Pledge Stone and I saw Barlow and Murph with their backs turned to me, they were talking about where I was as they wanted to give me their congratulations.

_'__They want to thank me for my hard work? I'm not concerned about that, though I'm glad Kellyn and I were able to help the Pokémon and Barlow, my main concern right now is Kellyn's health. Did Barlow not hear what I said earlier about Kellyn needing medical attention? Apparently, he didn't.' _I thought to myself in irritation.

"Barlow! Murph! You guys have to help Kellyn, I don't know what happened to him but he needs help now! He's struggling just to walk so I had to help him. Call the Ranger Union, we have to get a Staraptor here right away!" I said, almost to the point of screaming even though they were only a few feet away from me.

Barlow and Murph turned around and looked as if they saw a Gengar, they noticed how bad Kellyn's condition was, especially with his breathing still being heavy. The other problem is that he's struggling to walk, which means his injuries are much worse than I thought, plus his head injury concerned me.

"W-what happened to Kellyn?! I'll have a Staraptor sent over right now from the Ranger Union, don't worry Luana!" Murph said.

Murph is the Ranger Union's Public Relations manager and he started to panic quite a bit as he started calling the Ranger Union on his Styler to arrange for a Staraptor. Barlow also called the Ranger Union, asking if there were any open medical rooms.

"Hello? I need to know if there are any vacant medical rooms at the Ranger Union, it's an emergency, we have an injured Ranger who needs serious medical care!" Barlow said into his Styler.

"Luana, with these injuries I have, how long will I be unable to perform my Ranger duties? I have to protect Pokémon and people from Team Dim Sun…especially my family and you." Kellyn said weakly with a slight smile.

"I don't know how long you won't be able to do Ranger work, but you have to rest or you might get worse. I know you care about helping Pokémon and people, but your health is more important right now." I said.

Just hearing how strained he sounded made my heart break, Kellyn had to get urgent medical care right away. Even with him being so injured, he still cares about everyone so much, I'm touched that he's so concerned about his family and…me.

At the same time, I could only stand there holding Kellyn, getting more and more frantic as I waited for a Staraptor to show up. Thankfully, right as I was wondering where that Staraptor was, I saw it land in front of Murph and Barlow, with the Staraptor wearing a red helmet that has the Ranger Union logo.

"Great! I'm glad that Staraptor arrived, I was worried because it was taking a while to come here." I said, quickly running over to the Staraptor.

"Huh? Luana, that Staraptor only took a minute to reach here from the Ranger Union, it didn't take long at all!" Murph said.

"It only took a minute? Murph, every second counts, especially when it comes to Kellyn!" I said, as Murph nodded in understanding and gave a big grin.

"Great news Luana, one of the medical rooms has an opening. Try your best not to worry, this Staraptor will be able to take the both of you to the Ranger Union in no time. You two might be the tallest people in Almia, but it can still support the both of you easily!" Barlow said as I walked over to the Staraptor.

"U-um, Kellyn, do you mind if I wrap my arms around you while we're flying?" I said in a hushed tone.

"Of course you can Luana, I don't mind at all. I'm always happy with you." Kellyn said with a big grin.

The way he said that made my heart skip a beat as I carefully put Kellyn on the front of Staraptor while he held on as best as he could, I went behind him and held him close to me in one hand, while I held onto Staraptor with my other hand.

"Good, we're all ready to go! Let's go whenever you're ready Staraptor! Thank you Murph, thank you Barlow!" I said as I waved to them.

"Thanks for the help guys, I really appreciate it." Kellyn said in a hoarse voice while waving to Barlow and Murph.

They returned our waves with a smile as they started to jog up the steps past the Pledge Stone. Staraptor nodded and immediately began flying towards the Ranger Union, I could feel the cool breeze throughout the entire ride, but my main focus was Kellyn and ensuring his safety. Even though Kellyn was injured, he had a smile on his face while he tried hiding a blush.

"Don't worry Kellyn, we're almost there!" I said, making it seem like I didn't notice him blushing.

"Great, once I recover, I'll make sure to tell people about the great work you did!" Kellyn said, the blush showing even more on his face compared to before.

"Thanks Kellyn, that's very sweet of you, you did great work too, not just me! My main priority is making sure that you make a full recovery. That's what matters to me!" I said, also starting to blush.

Before we knew it, we were at the Ranger Union, I got off the Staraptor as I carried Kellyn in my arms and I thanked the Staraptor for helping us, it nodded and went behind the Ranger Union. I immediately ran inside and asked the receptionist where the medical room is.

"It-it's getting rather late here, please keep it down. The medical room is on the second floor, Kellyn's room is the fourth door." The receptionist said, somewhat stunned by my sudden entrance.

"Sorry about that, when Murph and Barlow come here, let them know I made it, thanks." I said with a smile.

The receptionist nodded and I ran up the staircase, I saw the fourth door was at the end of the hallway, embedded into the structure, surprisingly, the door opened automatically as I approached it and when I walked into the room, the motion sensor lights came on.

"I finally made it to the medical room, it seemed like it took hours to reach here from the time it took Barlow and Murph to ask about a vacant room and get the Staraptor to come here, though it only took a few minutes." I said as I gently laid Kellyn on the bed, we were the only ones in the room as I found out that all the medical rooms were separated from each other.

"Thank you Luana, you saved me. I can't wait to get rested up and continue helping people." Kellyn said with a blush on his face.

"I didn't save you Kellyn, you saved me, just focus on trying to recover, hopefully that doctor will be here soon." I said, feeling myself get flustered.

"Alright, if you really want me to recover, I guess I have no choice. By the way Luana, you looked really beautiful carrying me up that staircase, just like the hero you are." Kellyn said in a soft whisper, with his face getting more red.

"T-thank you Kellyn, b-but I'm no hero, I h-helped you out because o-of your suffering, I couldn't stand to see you look so hurt." I said with my face starting to feel hot.

Kellyn got closer to me after I told him that I wasn't a hero, so close in fact, that we could kiss.

"You don't think you're a hero? Luana, you're too modest, with what you did by helping the Pokémon on the cargo ship, as well as helping me several times, you're a hero to me. Once I fully recover, I'll give you a present to show you just how much I appreciate you." Kellyn said with a smirk as he tried to hide his blushing and went back down to the pillow.

_'__Phew, being that close to Kellyn made me feel…ecstatic, considering how much Kellyn was blushing and how he said he'll give me a present once he recovers, I can only imagine that present is a kiss.' _I thought to myself, feeling my face get hot again.

"A present for me? Thank you Kellyn, that's thoughtful of you. I'll try seeing where that doctor could be since I don't know how many patients he has and I have no idea where he is." I said with a smile, trying to make it seem like I didn't know Kellyn's present was actually a kiss.

As I looked around the room, I saw that there were some cabinets, a large chair, as well as a Pikachu phone hanging on the wall. I saw that there was a number for the medical area's receptionist and when I called the number, I got a response immediately.

"Hello, this is the Ranger Union's medical receptionist, how may I help you?" The young receptionist said.

"Hi, I just came in with a Ranger, his name is Kellyn and he's very injured, can you tell me if the doctor is going to be coming to his room? I'm sure he has a lot of other patients but I'm concerned about Kellyn's condition." I said with urgency prevalent in my voice.

"Ah yes, no worries, Murph and Barlow informed us of Kellyn's arrival and how injured he was. The doctor is on his way right now, he'll make sure to see what treatment Kellyn needs." The receptionist said.

"Great, I was worried he wouldn't be able to help Kellyn out, thanks for letting me know! Bye!" I said with gratitude.

"No problem, call this number if you need anything, bye!" The receptionist said.

After I hung up the phone and went over to Kellyn's bed, I went to check on his condition. While his breathing was much better and his voice was no longer hoarse, his head and leg injury really bothered me.

"Don't worry Kellyn, the receptionist said the doctor is on his way soon, he'll help you feel better!" I said with glee.

Kellyn responded by smiling and he took my hand and intertwined it with his, causing us both to blush. Kellyn started to pull me closer, which made me blush more than before.

"Luana, you'll stay with me, right? I don't want to be here by myself, especially because the only people I know who will be here are you, Barlow, Murph and the doctor. Please don't leave." Kellyn said, his voice shaky.


	5. Chapter 5: Kellyn's feelings for Luana

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, Pokemon Ranger, or the characters in this story.**

Chapter 5: Kellyn's feelings for Luana

"Of course I'll stay with you, Kellyn, I wouldn't leave you behind! Cheer up, I'll be right here!" I said, doing my best to not start crying. Hearing him sound so sad nearly made my heart shatter, I gave Kellyn a light hug and he happily hugged me back when we heard the door open.

"Oh hello! I hope I'm not interrupting anything! I'm Dr. Felix Rhythmi, I was informed by the receptionist that there was a patient needing urgent care but when I was going to ask her the name, she was helping another person with a question. K-Kellyn?! You're the injured patient? I'll do what I can to help you out!" Dr. Rhythmi stated in an urgent manner.

"Rhythmi, that name seems familiar…oh I know where I heard that name before, that's the name of one of Kellyn's classmates!" I said, remembering the girl Kellyn and how she dreamed about becoming an Operator.

"Yeah, I remember Rhythmi was really dedicated to becoming a Top Operator for here, hopefully she was able to do so!" Kellyn said.

"She certainly is a great Operator, she's actually going through training right now in Fiore!" Dr. Rhythmi said.

"That's great, she'll be successful!" Kellyn and I said simultaneously.

"Sounds like you two are very close, that's important for being great Rangers. As for your injuries, let me see how serious they are." Dr. Rhythmi said.

We both blushed at how Dr. Rhythmi noticed our fondness for each other while in the meantime, he took out some tools to check for things like the damage to Kellyn's leg and head, while hooking him up to measure his heart rate and blood flow.

"Hm, hm, I see. It appears that overall, your leg and head injuries aren't bad enough that you'll be out of your Ranger duties for a month. There's no need for alarm, though you'll still have to go a week without doing your Ranger duties because of leg damage. It appears that the strain you took from all those missions caused your leg to just give out. If you continued doing missions without taking a break, you could have easily collapsed. Thankfully, you had Luana with you the whole time." Dr. Rhythmi said with a slight smile.

Hearing that made me relieved, but it also made me feel sad for Kellyn, I know how much he loves helping people and to be told that he can't even do his Ranger work for a week and has to stay in bed and let his leg recover can't be something that he'll enjoy.

"A whole week staying in bed…how much medication will I need? Will I need to continue taking them after my leg gets the rest it needs?" Kellyn said with worry prevalent in his voice.

"No, you'll only need to take two different pills, once daily, you also don't need to take them once your leg is ready for more action. I'll get them for you now, they're in my bag, one second." Dr. Rhythmi said.

Dr. Rhythmi pulled out two small bottles of pills from his bag with Kellyn's name written on them, he then zipped up his bag and proceeded to take the pen from his coat pocket and scribbled something on a sheet of paper, afterwards, he handed me the same paper neatly folded in half. He saw that Kellyn and I were confused and with a soft laugh, he explained what it was for.

"That's for Luana to know what she has to do to in order to help you while you recover. Make sure to read the note Luana, it's important! Kellyn, all you have to do is to make a full recovery while taking those pills, you're in good hands." Dr. Rhythmi said with a smile as he exited the room.

Kellyn and I were wondering what the paper said as he took his medication with some water, I unfolded the note and I read what was written, "Luana, I know that you and Kellyn share a bond that rivals or even exceeds the love that Rhythmi and Keith have for each other, after being in Fiore for some time, I was able to see how much they care about one another. However, after seeing the both of you together for just a few minutes, I could tell the connection you and Kellyn have is extremely strong. Rhythmi told me before she and Keith left for Fiore that out of everyone in the world, she knew that you would be the one to look out for Kellyn, just like you always have. That's all I ask of you to do while Kellyn makes his recovery."

_'__Was the bond between Kellyn and I so strong that Dr. Rhythmi could tell right away_?' I thought to myself.

"What does the note say? I'm pretty curious and I'll be in bed for a week, so you should definitely tell me!" Kellyn said with a smirk.

"I-it says that you and I have a great bond a-and I should look out for you." I said nervously.

"That's what it says? Well, you and I are a great pair, we get along really well." Kellyn said with a small blush on his face.

I felt my heart skip a beat reading the note, it's true that Kellyn and I share a close bond, hearing him say that we get along so good really made me happy. I was about to respond when I heard people barge into the room, it wasn't Dr. Rhythmi with some nurses, but instead, it was three Rangers, two girls and a guy, all three of them were wearing masks, one was a Piplup, another was a Turtwig and the third one was Chimchar. The guy had dark brown hair, and while it wasn't combed forward like when that Ranger assaulted us…something about this guy definitely made me feel like they were the same person based on his overall demeanor. The girls both had dark brown hair in a ponytail and all three of them looked annoyed. Kellyn and I were a bit confused because they knew all the medical rooms were filled up and they certainly didn't look injured to me.

"Hello, I hope this doesn't sound rude but Kellyn was trying to rest, do the three of you need something? You all clearly ran in here for a reason." I said, a bit curious and wary as to why these three decided to just come in here since Kellyn was trying to recover.

"Hmph, is that any of your business? What are you, his girlfriend or something?" The male Ranger said, his voice muffled by his Piplup mask.

"Yeah, why don't you just mind your own business?" One of the female Rangers said, the second female Ranger with the Turtwig mask didn't say anything.

I took a deep breath and looked to Kellyn, he was clearly annoyed with these Rangers. These three shouldn't call themselves Rangers, barging into a hospital room, especially when someone is trying to rest is disrespectful.

"How about the three of you get out of this room? I'm not feeling too good and you three being here is just aggravating me, the fact that you two in particular are being so rude to Luana is making me beyond enraged." Kellyn said, looking far from his usual happy self.

"Uh…guys, while these two don't know anything about being Rangers and look like rookies, we shouldn't even be in here, we should let Kellyn rest, let's just go." The third Ranger said.

"This dumb girl isn't even saying anything back to us, she's probably too scared and doesn't want to say anything to us because she might look too macho in front of her pathetic boyfriend." The second Ranger said, which made the third one silent.

"Hah, she's definitely too scared, look at her, she's trembling worse than a Wurmple! As for Kellyn, it's obvious that he deserved to get hurt like that, the way he respects and loves Luana and how everyone always says such great things about these two really gets me angry, tch!" The male Ranger said, disgust clear in his voice. Hearing the Ranger say that made me scowl, which caused them to flinch and take a step back.

"T-that's r-right, Kellyn shouldn't even be qualified to be a Ranger at all!" The second Ranger said, her voice trembling.

While I can take insults all day since I'm used to Rangers making fun of me, the fact that they were insulting Kellyn is something that I won't let happen. I immediately stood up, towering over the three Rangers, even though they had masks on, I could tell that they were now absolutely scared, as they started to shiver. The Ranger who called us rookies and tried telling her friends to leave ended up running from the room.

"I'm sorry for how rude they are, they just don't know how to be nice!" The third Ranger said while running out the door, leaving just the Rangers with the Piplup and Chimchar mask.

"Hey, come back, you coward! Hmph, let's just go, these two aren't worth making fun of." The second Ranger said, running after her apparent friend.

"Er, yeah, let's go. Good luck dealing with Kellyn, he doesn't really have any intelligence to him, so you'll have to be rescuing him a lot." The male Ranger said with a scowl.

"Kellyn's more intelligent than you and your friends put together, you should run after your friends and leave now before I get really angry." I said in a menacing tone, fed up with their attitudes.

The male Ranger turned and quickly ran out of the room, avoiding me and Kellyn's glare. It annoyed me that they thought they could insult Kellyn, after they left, I locked the door and I went over to the Pikachu phone and called the receptionist on the ground floor since she had to know about those Rangers serious attitude problem.

"Hello, you're speaking with the receptionist on the Ranger Union Ground floor, you're calling from the medical room Kellyn is in, what seems to be the trouble?" The receptionist said.

"Hi, three Rangers, two girls with brown hair tied up in a ponytail, and a guy with the same hair color just came into Kellyn's room and two of them started being disrespectful towards us for no reason, is there anyone I can speak to about that?" I said to the receptionist.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry that happened, the person you can tell is Chairperson Erma, she was wondering how Kellyn's doing, she also had some great news for you as well. She's on her way to Kellyn's room right now. Is there anything else I can help you with?" The receptionist said.

"No, that's it, thank you so much, you've been very helpful. Bye!" I said

"Don't worry, it's what I'm here for, Chairperson Erma will be there in a bit, bye!" The receptionist said as I hanged up the phone.

_'__I'm happy Chairperson Erma is coming to see how Kellyn is doing, hopefully she'll also pull those Rangers by their ears for their rude behavior. Chairperson Erma has good news? I wonder what it is.' _I thought.

I turned to Kellyn and saw that he had a big grin on his face, I was wondering why, so I walked over to him and couldn't help smiling myself.

"Hi Kellyn, don't worry, Chairperson Erma will be here soon to see how you're doing, I just finished speaking with the receptionist and she said that Chairperson Erma will deal with their behavior. By the way, what's with the big grin on your face?" I said.

"Chairperson Erma is on her way here? Awesome! As for why I'm grinning, it's because of how much you always stand up for me, literally. All jokes aside, thanks for defending me like that, the only other individuals who have done that were my parents and I really appreciate them for that." Kellyn said as he started to chuckle.

"No need to thank me for that Kellyn, those Rangers were insulting the both of us for no reason and I couldn't allow them to be so disrespectful to you. I'll always help you out." I said.

Whenever I hear Kellyn laugh, it always makes me laugh as well and at first, I just giggled but then I started to laugh with him and I completely forgot about those rude Rangers from earlier. However, after we finished laughing, we heard a light tapping at the door and saw an older woman's face in the glass, she then asked if she could come in and I went ahead and unlocked the door since she couldn't see Kellyn too well from where she was at.

"Hello there dearies, I'm sure you've already guessed it, but I'm Chairperson Erma, it's great to meet the both of you. Kellyn! I'm glad you're doing okay, I hope you plan to stay here and recover as long as you need to, don't worry about your Ranger duties please, anything that you had to do for next week will be divided with the other Rangers. Luana, I have some great news for you, do you mind stepping out of the room for a moment? I'll also tell you about those Rangers who were bothering you and Kellyn." Chairperson Erma said with a smile.

I looked over at Kellyn, not wanting to leave his side, though he gave a nod to tell me it's okay. I smiled at him and walked outside of the room with Chairperson Erma as she closed the door upon leaving the room.

"Don't worry Luana, this will only take a short while. Barlow and Murph are also doing some paperwork so they still won't be here yet, as for those Rangers that were bothering the two of you, there's no need to worry, the ground floor receptionist had them go back upstairs as they were running out of the Ranger Union with their masks still on. I called them into the conference room and told them that if they bothered either you or Kellyn again, they'll no longer be Rangers. Now that that's out of the way, the good news is that you're being promoted to become a Top Ranger for your great work in the cargo ship!" Chairperson Erma exclaimed.

"Me? A Top Ranger? While I'm flattered, what about Kellyn?" I said, extremely worried and distraught that Kellyn wouldn't be a Top Ranger as well.

"Hmm, why would you think Kellyn deserves to also become a Top Ranger? Is there anything that you can think of that would make him suitable for the position? Otherwise, I would just promote you to become a Top Ranger and have a different Ranger partner while Kellyn would work here as an Area Ranger." Chairperson Erma said.

"Chairperson Erma, with all due respect, I won't become a Top Ranger unless Kellyn joins me. To me, it doesn't matter who does more or less work, but if the job is done accurately. After all, we found out a key member of Team Dim Sun was Kincaid, a former Ranger school teacher. I think that Kellyn deserves to be a Top Ranger because if it wasn't for him saving me when a giant box fell was about to fall on us, Kellyn and I would have been captured along with Barlow and then three Rangers would have gone missing. Kellyn is also extremely courageous and as you know, he helped extinguish the Vien forest fire as well as finding out why the Pokémon were acting up in Pueltown. I'm not sure what other Rangers think of him, but he means everything to me, I wouldn't have anyone else as my partner." I said, making sure that I told Chairperson Erma my feelings for Kellyn.

Chairperson Erma started to smile and I knew that she was trying to test me as well as see how much I care about Kellyn. I felt a sense of relief because I always heard of how kind she was, though other Rangers always said she loved joking and testing other Rangers wits.

"Luana, you're a bright young lady, I can see why Kellyn loves you. As you already figured out, I was simply seeing if you would be like some of the Rangers in the past, though I knew you wouldn't be selfish like them. I had you and Kellyn added to the roster of Top Rangers when Barlow told me about the great things you two did in the cargo ship, storming their ship to rescue him was very brave indeed. Since every Ranger has a partner Pokémon and a human partner, sometimes they end up thinking of themselves and not their supposed friend for the promotion to become a Top Ranger. It's rather sad to see how so many Rangers decide to be selfish to their friend and not inform me of all the good that their partner did, only themselves. I knew you would pass because of how big your heart is, but with how much you love Kellyn, I think you two will be able to do anything." Chairperson Erma said with a chuckle.

"Thank you, Chairperson Erma, I'll do anything I can to protect those in need. If you don't mind me asking, can I stay by Kellyn's side until he makes a full recovery? Dr. Rhythmi said that Kellyn needs his rest and he also has to take a few pills, however, those three Rangers from earlier are still making me worry for Kellyn's safety. I know you said if they were disrespectful like that again, they would be revoked of their Ranger licenses, but considering that they barged in the first time and just went off on Kellyn and I for no reason, it makes me feel that they'll just continue insulting us when no one's around." I said, still feeling a bit of rage at those Rangers for how they treated Kellyn.

"Don't you worry dearie, I assure you those rowdy Rangers won't bother you two again, they'll be doing paperwork once they come back from their errand. As for staying by Kellyn's side, you're more than welcome to stay by his bedside until he makes a full recovery. Just make sure you and Kellyn eat food whenever you're hungry, I can tell with how much you both care for each other, one of you won't even eat because of how concerned you are for the other. The cafeteria is on this floor, it's the second door you see when you come off the escalator. Easy to remember, second floor, second door!" Chairperson Erma said with a smile.

"Thank you so much Chairperson Erma, I really appreciate your kindness and generosity. I'll make sure to get some food for Kellyn and myself first, I'll just have to see what Kellyn wants. I'm honored that you chose Kellyn and I to be Top Rangers, we'll do our best like always!" I said, giving Chairperson Erma a grin.

"You're welcome dearie, Kellyn's in great hands, he'll feel better in no time with you around! Once Kellyn recovers, I'll formally make the both of you Top Rangers! By the way, I'm not sure if you know, but the Ranger Union is holding a dance in the next week and a half, I hope you and Kellyn will attend if he's made a full recovery by then, I think the two of you will be so happy to be there with each other! If you need anything, I'll be at the Tree of Harmony, on the top floor. Bye Luana, the Ranger Union is glad to have such a powerful duo on our team!" Chairperson Erma said as she waved and started to walk to the escalator.

"Thank you, Chairperson Erma, I'll let you know if I have any questions! That Ranger Union dance sounds awesome, thank you for letting me know about it!" I said, giving a happy wave of my own.

Chairperson Erma gave a smile as she got on the escalator, after she went upstairs, I felt tears fall on my uniform.

_'__Kellyn and I…we're finally working for the Ranger Union, this was a goal we both tried our best to work hard for! First, I should ask Kellyn what he'd like to eat, then I'll tell him the amazing news about him becoming a Top Ranger'! _I thought to myself as I wiped away the tears.

I softly knocked on Kellyn's room and after not hearing anything, I looked in the window to see him sleeping in his bed. Thankfully, the doors can sense whether a Ranger is able to open a door or not, such as if their hands are filled with paperwork or equipment. Since I wasn't holding anything, the door didn't open automatically, so I had to gently open the door as I went inside Kellyn's room and couldn't help but smile.

_'__Kellyn looks so peaceful napping, I wouldn't want to wake him up. I can understand how exhausted he must be, considering how many times he got injured and knocked unconscious. Even after the pain he endured, he was still concerned about everyone on the ship over himself. Kellyn will be a great Top Ranger, I just know it.' _I thought to myself.

After I checked Kellyn's bedside to make sure he was sound asleep, I locked the door back, then, I looked around the drawers for a blanket and found two soft blankets made from Altaria feathers. Thankfully, Altarias seem to grow their feathers back in what seems like the blink of an eye. I was also considering about taking a nice rest myself since I was feeling very tired.

I pulled up a chair so I could be close to Kellyn and was about to put one of the blankets on top of Kellyn when I noticed how much he was shivering, even with the blanket that he already had over him, his entire body seemed to shudder. I checked his forehead to see if he was getting sick and right when I put the palm of my hand to his head, his shivering stopped.

Curious, I removed my hand and Kellyn started to shiver again, I put the Altaria blanket on top of Kellyn and noticed he was still shivering slightly, so I tried seeing if holding his hand while he was sleeping would make his shivering go away since his other arm was strapped up to read his heart rate at all times.

When I held Kellyn's hand with mine, his shivering stopped completely and I felt my face get hot, with how much I was blushing, I probably looked like a Tamato berry. After Kellyn's shivering stopped, I saw his eyes were still closed and I was very happy to see him not shiver at all. Seeing Kellyn shiver like that made me wonder how I could help him, and I was surprised that me holding his hand was the way to help him not shiver continuously.

"Luana, this…this wedding ring is… for you. After all, who else would this ring be for? This was the reason I wanted to bring you out to Nabiki beach…so I can take your hand in marriage." Kellyn said to himself.

_'__Kellyn's dream is about him proposing to me? He's too adorable, I'm glad he's having such a nice dream…the fact that he would dream about me is touching.' _I thought to myself as I blushed, giddy at the fact that Kellyn was dreaming about me, even more so that he was dreaming about proposing to me.


	6. Chapter 6: The new Top Rangers

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

Chapter 6: The new Top Rangers!

Kellyn's eyes slowly started to flutter open and I was overjoyed about him waking up. Kellyn started rubbing his eyes a bit and they were fully opened at this point, he sat up a bit as he looked fondly at me with his expression looking starry-eyed, his beautiful eyes also seemed to have me in a trance as I tried asking Kellyn if he wanted food.

"K-Kellyn, you're awake! I-I'm so glad, I was thinking about getting you some food, are you hungry for anything in particular?" I said, his eyes still being locked onto mine as I noticed how much his pupils were dilating.

"Luana, you're here! I had a great dream about you, it involved you and I going to Nabiki Beach and I proposed to you, it was the best dream I've ever had. I'd love to see your face every time I wake up. As for food, if you could get me some vegetable soup, that would be awesome, please get something for yourself too." Kellyn said with a smile.

_'__Wow, I'm still surprised that Kellyn boldly stated that he not only had a dream where we got married, but Kellyn said he wouldn't mind seeing my face when he wakes up. He's good at making me blush, time to get him his soup!' _I thought, starting to feel a blush on my face while I grinned slightly.

"No problem Kellyn, I'll get you some soup and some food for me too. Don't worry, I'll be right back!" I said as I ran out of the room to the cafeteria that was nearby.

I opened the cafeteria door and saw a large area with a giant skylight, which would let sunlight seep through, but since it was nighttime, the only thing I saw was the glow of the moon. No one else was in the cafeteria currently except for a few chefs, but thankfully I was able to find the vegetable soup along with other types of soup at the left side from the entrance. After getting some bowls that were by the soups, I filled up a bowl with vegetable soup and got some salad for Kellyn while I went ahead and got some vegetable soup for myself. I put everything on a nearby tray and got some bottles of water and went back over to Kellyn's room. After the door opened, I put the tray down by Kellyn's bedside, I held the soup in my hands so that Kellyn wouldn't have to strain to eat the food and when he finished the soup, I gave him the bottle of water to drink which he finished quickly.

"Thank you Luana, that was really kind of you. I don't know anyone who would do that, if I asked anyone else to help me with eating, their hands would get tired!" Kellyn said while grinning.

"You're welcome Kellyn, if I had to hold soup for you all day, I would do it, making you feel relaxed and happy is what matters to me." I said, trying not to blush.

"Well you're certainly able to make me happy easily, seeing your face every day is one of the quickest ways to make me smile! You're just so kind and courageous, always coming to my side whenever I need help is what a true Ranger Partner does." Kellyn said in a cheery voice with a blush starting to show on his face.

"You're so sweet Kellyn, you always know what to say and I can't even describe how much I appreciate those kind words." I said.

"You're welcome Luana, I always looking out for those I care about! By the way, I was wondering, did you happen to hear something interesting the Ranger Union is doing? I overheard some Rangers mentioning how there's a dance coming up for members of the Ranger Union, I didn't hear anything about the dance in detail, but I figured it would be something great to go to, but I'm not too certain if you'd like to go." Kellyn said.

"I'd love to go Kellyn, Chairperson Erma told me the dance will be in a week and a half, since you're wanting to go, I'll be more than happy to dance with you!" I said.

"Good, you're the only person I would go with anyway, but be careful, I'm not a good dancer so I'll probably bump into you a lot." Kellyn said as he ran a hand through his hair.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, and don't worry about not being a good dancer, I'm not decent either, but I think that we can do great if we danced together." I said with a smile.

"Dancing with someone as amazing as you sounds like a great idea to me." Kellyn said with a small blush.

Hearing Kellyn say that made my heart skip a beat, it was something simple but hearing him say I'm amazing just makes me feel Butterfrees in my stomach. I was going to tell him how I felt after we got off the cargo ship but since he was so injured, I decided to leave it for when he recovers, the dance will be the best time to tell him.

"I think it'll be great as well, I can't wait to start dancing with you!" I said with a smile as Kellyn smiled back at me.

"By the way, Luana, I was wondering about those Rangers that were rude to us, I really couldn't stand their attitude. I know you told Chairperson Erma about their behavior, but I wonder what sort of punishment she gave them. Did she let you beat them up?" Kellyn said with a smirk.

"Haha, no Kellyn, Chairperson Erma didn't let me beat them up, even if she did, I wouldn't beat those Rangers up, though they should apologize the next time they see us. As for what happened to them, Chairperson Erma assigned them to do paperwork when they come back from a quest they're doing." I said.

"Oh man, Chairperson Erma had them do paperwork? That must be rough! Well, hopefully they don't bother us again, I don't know who they thought they were to just come into someone's room when they're trying to rest." Kellyn said.

"I agree, hopefully they learned their lesson. I have some great news to tell you Kellyn, I decided to save it until you finished eating…Chairperson Erma promoted the both of us to Top Rangers!" I said with glee.

Kellyn's face looked absolutely surprised at first, but I wouldn't blame him for looking so surprised. After all, one of his biggest goals that he always wanted to achieve actually happened. After Kellyn could tell I wasn't joking with him, he smiled and gave me a firm hug, at first, I was a little taken aback because of how quickly he did it, but I returned the hug. It felt so good to be so close to Kellyn, I always feel at peace when he's around me. After we hugged for a bit, I pulled away from Kellyn and smiled at him with him doing the same.

"While I do love seeing you smile, what's making you so happy this time?" Kellyn said.

"I'm smiling because of what a great Ranger and person you are, I always feel safe by your side and you know that there's nothing I would do without you." I said, feeling my heart skip a beat as I felt my face get hot.

"Thank you Luana, I hope you know that I'll always appreciate you. Once I recover, I can't wait to do more missions with you, it's always exciting to think of where our adventures would take us." Kellyn said.

"I know you're excited Kellyn, I always wonder where we'll have to go in Almia next, especially because of how Team Dim Sun is causing so much havoc. But don't worry about doing any missions, you need your rest." I said as I placed my hand on his.

"Fine, fine, if you insist, nurse Luana, I'll get some sleep." Kellyn said with a smirk.

"Hahah, nurse? Well then, since I'm your nurse, you have to get some sleep, you and I have been talking all night!" I said.

"No way, what time is it? You're just trying to be funny, aren't you?" Kellyn said.

I checked my Styler and checked the time, it was…2:40 A.M.?! I must have had a surprised look on my face because Kellyn looked a bit concerned.

"What's wrong? Are you shocked it's actually not late at all?" Kellyn said, snickering.

When I showed Kellyn that it was 2:40 A.M., he went from snickering to his jaw nearly hitting the floor, I couldn't help but laugh a little at his expression changing so fast.

"Oh man, we really have been talking all night, haven't we? Well that's no problem, I wouldn't have it any other way, looks like I'm going to sleep after all!" Kellyn said.

"The same goes for me Kellyn, I love talking with you! I'll sleep here tonight if that's okay, though I'd rather sleep in something comfortable like a bed." I said, looking around for one.

"Of course, you can sleep in this room! As for something relaxing to sleep in…hmm… maybe there's a foldable bed or something similar in this room somewhere?" Kellyn said, trying to hold back his laughter.

"A foldable bed? I don't think there's anything in this room like that, but I'll look around. Hmm, I wonder what's making you laugh, let me guess, is the chair that I'm sitting on able to turn into a bed?" I said, slightly arching an eyebrow.

"Hahah! That's right, that chair can become a bed and turn back into a chair in less than a minute. I heard it's comfy too." Kellyn said, with him being unable to control his laughter.

Kellyn and I just laughed at how silly the situation was, here I was, looking for a small bed or something that I can use as a bed, and it turns out I was sitting on it the whole time.

"Are you serious? I thought you were joking with me! Let me see how I can make this chair into a bed." I said as I giggled.

I turned the chair upside down and right on the underside, there were instructions on how to make the chair become a bed. I continued to giggle while I followed the directions and just like Kellyn said, in less than a minute, there was a comfy looking bed being secured by locks so it didn't just snap back into a chair. I went to pick a good spot a little bit away from Kellyn so he would have his own space while he slept and I pulled out a pillow from the same drawer that I got the Altaria blankets from. As I was using the Altaria blanket I got earlier, I started lying down in bed while I waited to fall asleep, I turned to the side and saw Kellyn looking at me, he looked distraught.

"What's wrong Kellyn? You look so upset, is something the matter?" I said, worry very prevalent in my voice.

"Well Luana, I was wondering if you would move your bed next to mine and sleep next to me while holding my hand, it would help me fall asleep better." Kellyn said.

"You want to be close to me and you want me to hold your hand? Are…are you sure, Kellyn?" I said.

"Yes Luana, I'm sure, I wouldn't want to hold hands with anyone else. Come on over, my hand feels cold." Kellyn said with a smirk.

"I-I understand, Kellyn, let me just change off of my Ranger uniform into some pajamas, hopefully there's a locker around here, I wouldn't want to put it in a cabinet in case I end up forgetting it." I said, feeling my face get hot.

Kellyn smiled and nodded as I walked around the room looking for a locker. Eventually I spotted a locker by the bathroom and opened it, when I did, I noticed my Ranger bag inside along with Kellyn's Ranger bag on the second shelf as well and I smiled. I then headed into the bathroom, as I changed from my Ranger uniform into the pajamas that were in the bag, I was wondering how all of my clothes and Kellyn's Ranger bag was brought from the Vientown Ranger base, especially since Kellyn and I were promoted to be Top Rangers only today and I hadn't seen anyone else come in. As I was wondering how they got here, I saw a note that was attached to my Ranger bag, it was from Barlow.

"Hi Luana, if you're reading this, then it means that you've been accepted into the Ranger Union as one of their Top Rangers! I always knew that you and Kellyn would become Top Rangers, especially because of how much the two of you care for Pokémon, people and especially each other. Yes, it's pretty easy to see that you both care for each other deeply and I can tell Kellyn feels the same way you do about him because of how much he talks about you and defends you whenever someone is rude to you. You might be wondering why your clothes and Kellyn's Ranger bag are in the locker and it's because Chairperson Erma said you two would be excellent Top Rangers based on the amazing feats you both did in Pueltown and the Vien Forest! While it makes me sad to know two Rangers are going to the Ranger Union, I'm happy that those same two Rangers have become Top Rangers because of their dedication to helping Pokémon and people."

I smiled as I finished reading Barlow's note, I went ahead and put my Ranger uniform on a hangar with a Magnemite on top and came out of the bathroom. I carried my Ranger bag to the locker and put it inside while I hanged my uniform on the locker's handle. After I finished putting my belongings away, I nervously walked over to Kellyn since these are my favorite pajamas and with them being plastered with Eevee, I was wondering what he would think of them. I noticed him smiling as I moved the bed over so that both our beds were connected and got in mine.

"I know my pajamas might be a bit silly, but they're my favorite pair!" I said.

Kellyn looked at me and started snickering a little, at first, I was thinking he was laughing because of the pajamas, but then I realized that he had Eevee pajamas too.

"Hahah, Luana, you're too funny! Your pajamas aren't silly, after all, I got Eevee pajamas too, we really are a great pair!" Kellyn said as I noticed he had the exact same pajamas I did.

"I agree, we're an awesome pair, especially when we're together." I said with a smile as I climbed into my bed.

"Don't go to bed just yet, you almost forgot to take off the light switch!" Kellyn said.

"Oops, I don't think we would be getting any sleep if it was still on!" I said as Kellyn laughed. I quickly flicked off the light switch and made my way back to the bed.

"Time to get some rest Kellyn, good night, have sweet dreams." I said, smiling and blushing.

"Good night Luana, I hope I'll see your face when I wake up tomorrow. I hope you have great dreams too." Kellyn said as we held hands and I felt myself starting to blush.

"Don't worry, you will, I can't wait to see your face tomorrow morning either. Good night Kellyn." I said.

I listened to Kellyn as he quickly fell asleep and I shifted myself into a comfortable position. '_Today was a really great day, after all, I got to spend time with Kellyn. Though his condition bothers me, it seems that he'll make a full recovery in no time_.' I thought to myself as I glanced over at Kellyn while I found myself falling asleep.

_'__Poor Kellyn, he must be exhausted.'_ I thought to myself as I drifted off.

I woke up next morning to find Kellyn still asleep, since I was already awake, I decided to head to the locker and was about to change off into my Ranger uniform until I realized that Chairperson Erma told me I could stay by Kellyn's bedside until he recovered. When I walked back from the locker to Kellyn's side, I couldn't help but notice how peaceful he looked sleeping. I'm glad that I was able to find those Altaria blankets last night, especially since Kellyn need to stay as warm as possible. I was checking my Styler to see if there were any notifications from the Ranger Union but there wasn't anything. When I put my Styler back into my pocket, I noticed Kellyn was awake as he was rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"Good morning Kellyn, did you have a good sleep? I was also thinking of getting some breakfast, but I wanted to wait until you woke up first. Is there anything that you wanted to eat in particular?" I said.

"Good morning Luana, I did have a great rest, thanks for asking, I hope you slept well too! If you could bring me something simple, that would be nice, I'll eat anything you're having." Kellyn said with a smile.

"Oh, I did sleep good, I was next to you, after all! I'll go see what they have at the cafeteria and I'll bring you something good back." I said, smiling back at him as we both blushed.

I headed out the door and was surprised that there wasn't a large line, I would have expected a line of some sort since it was breakfast time, but I was taken aback when I didn't see anyone waiting outside or in the hallway. As I opened the doors, I was a bit surprised to still see no Rangers eating food here, so I checked my Styler and saw that it was 10 A.M., thankfully, it wasn't late for breakfast at all.

Scratching my head, I simply shrugged it off and picked up two plates, wondering what Kellyn wanted, I remember he told me that he'll eat whatever I'm eating, so I picked up what I usually have for breakfast, toast with eggs in the shape of a Magnemite, a few Sitrus berries, and a glass of Miltank milk and put the same amount of food on Kellyn's plate. As I was walking with both trays, I kept thinking it was very odd how there was no one in the cafeteria both times I went there, the only people in there were the chefs, there weren't any Rangers, Mechanics or Operators. I went up to Kellyn's door as it opened automatically and I went inside, I saw Kellyn finished taking his medicine, so I went ahead and put the tray next to him while I put our food on the table next to me.

"Hi Luana, you were back fast! Even though this is usually what I eat for breakfast, it's even better considering that you brought it for me!" Kellyn said, happily.

"I know, you and I love to eat and I figured since we eat the same things, I got you all this food." I said.

"Good choice Luana, I should start eating since I'll need to get strong like you! I'll eat as much as I can, thanks Luana!" Kellyn said with a smile.

Even though Kellyn made it seem like he may not have been able to finish all of the food I brought him, he was able to do so easily, just like he always has, which made me smile. After we finished eating, I took the trays back to the cafeteria and when I came back into the room, I folded the bed back into a chair, after doing so, I sat down and couldn't help but gaze into Kellyn's eyes, they were so full of hope and just being so close to him made my face feel hot.

"Hm? What's wrong Luana, is there an eyelash in one of my eyes or something?" Kellyn said, blushing slightly.

"There's no eyelashes in either of them, I was just gazing into your eyes, just thinking about how dedicated you are to helping people makes me so thrilled, I can't even describe it." I said, trying to hide my blush with my hands.

Kellyn noticed my blushing anyway and moved my hands from my face as he intertwined my hands with his. Of course, this only made me blush harder and when I looked up from our hands being intertwined, I saw Kellyn gazing into my eyes with a smile and a blush that rivaled my own.

"Luana, while I think you look great no matter what, I have to say the fact that you look like a Tamato berry right now is hilarious!" Kellyn said as he burst into laughter.

"My face looks like a Tamato berry?!" I said as I put my hands to my face in surprise. Hearing Kellyn say my face looked that red as well as hearing his joyful laughter just made me laugh as well. After laughing for a while, we heard a small tapping at the door, I assumed it was Chairperson Erma but when I went to look, I saw it was Barlow and Murph! I went ahead and opened the door and they both came inside, along with Buneary and Pachirisu…and noticed how happy our Partner Pokémon look.

"Barlow, Murph, how are you guys? It's good to see the both of you. Come here Pachirisu and Buneary, we missed you!" Kellyn and I said as Pachirisu and Buneary started hopping up and down after not seeing us for a while, Pachirisu went on Kellyn's bed while Buneary hopped into my arms.

"We're good, sorry we couldn't come the day you were admitted here Kellyn, Chairperson Erma had us file some paperwork and it took hours to do. When we finished, we were so exhausted we decided to temporarily sleep in one of the spare rooms the Top Operators use, how are you feeling?" Barlow said, looking a bit worried when he saw Kellyn's condition.

"Yeah, aside from that paperwork, Barlow and I are doing good, Barlow just wanted to say goodbye while he headed back to the Vientown Ranger base so I decided to accompany him on the way back so he wouldn't go alone." Murph said as he backed up a bit so Barlow could talk with us.

"I'm glad the both of you are doing great, Kellyn and I will really miss you Barlow, you've been so helpful in being our leader. Don't you be sad, we'll drop in and see how everyone's doing from time to time." I said, feeling a bit emotional.

"I'm doing much better than when I was brought in, Luana's been helping me this whole time with my recovery, she really is something special. We're sad that you're no longer our leader, Barlow, but just like Luana said, we'll be more than happy to pay you guys a visit." Kellyn said, smiling as he looked at me.

"Looks like you two are getting even closer than before, your Pokémon feel the same way with how much they were hugging each other when they were with us." Murph said, smiling as Pachirisu jumped down from where Kellyn was and started playing and hugging Buneary.

"Hahah, they take after their Ranger partners!" Barlow said, making the both of us blush.

"They really do, you and Murph aren't heading back to the Ranger base already, are you?" Kellyn said.

"We have to go back to the Ranger base, I figured staying here for a day would be good enough but Murph and I had to check up on your condition to make sure you were safe Kellyn, though with Luana here, I knew you would be just fine." Barlow said with a grin.

"I understand Barlow, thank you for everything, you're a great Leader. It was great to see you and Murph again." I said.

"Thank you for your kind words Luana, you and Kellyn were always so helpful at the base and I appreciate everything that the two of you did for Vientown. I'll miss the both of you so much, I hope to see you two soon." Barlow smiled as he tried not getting emotional, despite how tough he says he is, he tends to get emotional sometimes, so we understood when he went out of the room, it was to cry. I wouldn't blame him, two of his Rangers became Top Rangers and now the base will only have Crawford, Elaine, Ollie and Jen, the operator.

"Aw, poor Barlow…he was telling me while we were doing paperwork that he'll always remember the great work the both of you have done and Barlow said he's proud of the both of you, especially with how courageous the both of you were storming that cargo ship. That was something! I'll go ahead and walk him back to the Ranger base and take Buneary and Pachirisu with me. You know how Barlow feels about Staraptors, plus Pachirisu and Buneary seem eager to be with you guys when you're going on missions, it seems that they don't want to interrupt the two of you. I'll come back to the Ranger Union once I'm done helping him out, bye for now guys!" Murph said with a big grin on his face as he exited the room.


	7. Chapter 7: Nighttime Problems

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, Pokemon Ranger, or the characters in this story.**

Chapter 7: Nighttime Problems

"I'll miss the both of them, I'm glad they came to see us, I was starting to wonder where they were, that must have been a lot of paperwork. Buneary, make sure Pachirisu stays safe, okay?" I said, giggling as Buneary started hopping up and down and hugged Pachirisu.

"Yeah, I can only imagine, to do paperwork for so long must have been boring, I'm glad they came to see us. I'll miss you Pachirisu, make sure to train hard with Buneary!" Kellyn said as Pachirisu gave Kellyn a hug.

We both waved goodbye to our Partner Pokémon as they left the room and only a few seconds later, Murph came to the window with Barlow as Murph held our partners in his arms, as they all gave us a smile and a wave as we did the same.

"Kellyn, how's your leg feeling? Is it still paining you like before?" I said, fraught with concern.

"It's actually feeling noticeably better, I've only being taking the pills for two days and I feel better compared to when I came in." Kellyn said.

"Good, I was worried about your leg injury, it seems that the bruise on your head is gone now. Would you like some lunch?" I said, feeling relieved.

"Yes please, I'll take whatever you're having, especially since you know how to eat." Kellyn said.

I smiled back at him and walked out of the room, I walked into the cafeteria and just like I thought, there was nobody inside besides the chefs. Perplexed that no one was in the cafeteria again, I saw my Styler and noticed that it was 5:02 P.M.

_'__I know that this cafeteria is right by the medical rooms, but shouldn't there be at least one person eating food here? There are enough seats here for a lot of people…maybe there's another cafeteria on another floor? It seems that no matter what time I come in here, no one is here but the chefs.' _I thought to myself as I went and got two plates of food, this time, I decided to bring Kellyn some rice that had Miltank cheese, sliced Tamato berries and peppers. After I put the food on the two trays, I went ahead and got some soda to go with it. I entered Kellyn's room and put the trays on the table.

"Luana, you really know how to eat good food, thank you!" Kellyn said, smiling at me.

"No problem, you should start eating, you need your strength!" I said to Kellyn, smiling back at him.

After we finished eating and having our sodas, I went ahead and put the trays and plates back in the cafeteria. I checked the time, it was 5:48 P.M. now, the place was starting to get dark. When I came back inside Kellyn's room, I noticed that Kellyn looked like he was fast asleep, when I went to check up on him more closely, he quickly turned his face, to the point where our noses almost touched.

"AHHH! Kellyn, why did you do that?! I thought you were asleep! You almost made my head touch the ceiling!" I said, surprised.

"Hahaha, hi Luana! I figured pulling a joke like that would be funny, I just didn't expect you to jump so high, you look like you saw a Haunter or something!" Kellyn said, trying to hold back his laughter.

"Hmph, you know, for someone as handsome as yourself, you're quite the jokester!" I said as I started to giggle a little bit seeing Kellyn fail to contain his laughter.

I couldn't help but laugh after Kellyn burst into a fit of laughter. I really enjoy his company, he's so enthralling and just a joy to be around, after we finished laughing, I went into the bathroom and when I finished washing my hands, I walked back to where Kellyn was, he seemed to be a bit starry-eyed even when I started gently shaking him.

"Kellyn? What's wrong, are you okay?" I said, worried.

Thankfully, Kellyn snapped out of his starry-eyed daze after I asked if he was okay which made me sigh with relief.

"Yes, I'm good Luana, sorry if I scared you just now. I was just a bit surprised…you called me handsome?" Kellyn said, a blush evident on his face.

"A-ah, yes, Kellyn, you're very handsome, you should know that!" I said, my face starting to feel hot.

"Thanks Luana, no one's ever told me that! Has anyone ever told you how your eyes have this sparkle to them? Or how beautiful you look?" Kellyn said, blushing fiercely.

"Y-you think I look beautiful a-and you think my eyes are t-that amazing?" I said, my face feeling hotter than before.

"Of course I do! Luana, you're an amazing Ranger and a great person, don't ever think that you're not!" Kellyn said with a smile.

"Thank you Kellyn, I needed those words of encouragement." I said, smiling with him.

"Anytime Luana, I'm ready to head to bed, I feel kind of tired, what time is it?" Kellyn asked.

I checked my Styler and noticed the time was…1:29 A.M.?! After I told Kellyn what time it was, he smirked.

"Still earlier than last time, let's head to bed so we won't be too tired, on a positive note, my leg is feeling far better today than it was yesterday!" Kellyn said.

"You're right, it is earlier compared to last time, though it's still a bit late! Wait, your leg feels better? Kellyn, that's great! I'm ready to go to bed whenever you are!" I said, joyful that Kellyn's recovery is going much quicker than I thought.

Kellyn and I started getting ready to sleep and I quickly assembled my chair into a bed and took off the light switch. Kellyn put the Altaria blanket over his body but even in the dark, I could still notice him shivering terribly. Almost instinctively, I held his hand and he stopped shivering right away.

"Thank you Luana, now I'll be able to sleep. Good night." Kellyn said.

"No problem Kellyn, I'm happy that I could help you get to sleep. Good night." I said.

_'__I'm so worried about Kellyn, I don't mind helping him but I'm so sad that he's not able to help people like he loves doing. I know he'll be a great Top Ranger once he fully recovers.' _I thought to myself as I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up and started to yawn, as I rubbed my eyelids, I looked over to Kellyn's bed and noticed he wasn't there. As I started to panic, I looked around and heard the sink running.

_'__Could the noise coming from the bathroom…be Kellyn? It has to be! If anyone else came in this room, my eyes would have shot wide open!' _I thought.

I lightly knocked on the door once I heard the sink was shut off and I heard whose voice it was, to say the very least, I was elated!

"Hello? Luana, is that you? You can come on in if you want, I was just brushing my teeth." Kellyn said.

_'__Kellyn's...Kellyn's better?!'_ I thought. Opening the door, I saw Kellyn putting away his toothbrush and toothpaste as I saw him in a brand new Ranger uniform.

I was so happy to see Kellyn that I ran at him and hugged him, tears started falling down my cheeks as Kellyn returned the hug and started crying as well.

"K-Kellyn, y-you're able to walk as if you w-were never injured…how?" I said through sobs.

"I don't know i-if it was the medicine Dr. Rhythmi gave me, b-but I-I'm all better now. It's t-thanks to you, Luana, t-thank you." Kellyn said, sobbing just as much as me.

After we stopped crying, I pinched myself, Kellyn chuckled a little but I did it because I was so relieved that he recovered much faster than the week Dr. Rhythmi said it would've taken him! I changed into my uniform, took all of our belongings and then we headed out of the room. We headed out of the hallway and went up to the third floor to look around the Ranger Union, Kellyn and I knew Chairperson Erma was on the fourth floor where the Tree of Harmony is but we weren't too sure if she was always there or not. I was excited as Chairperson Erma said she would formally make us Top Rangers once Kellyn makes his recovery.

We were both eager to officially become Top Rangers and we were giddy as we reached the third floor. Kellyn and I were in awe of the Operator's Room as we saw three screens with each of them showing different details and information. One was a giant screen displaying all of Almia, Fiore and Obilivia and if there are any disruptions going on at the moment, understandably, our region was filled with multiple people asking for assistance. A second screen gave statuses of all the Rangers outside of Almia as well as Rangers who weren't Top Rangers, it also gave information such as what region they're in and if they're doing a quest or a mission at the moment. There was also a third screen that showed the same information for Top Rangers only, Kellyn and I saw our faces on the screen as being side by side. After we observed the technology, we started to look around for Chairperson Erma and asked a Top Mechanic if she was up on the fourth floor.

"Hello there, Luana and Kellyn! That's right, Chairperson Erma is up on the fourth floor. Most of the people in the Ranger Union are talking rather highly of the both of you. They think the dedication you both have for each other is something every Ranger, Operator and Mechanic should have. I'm glad I was able to help such a lovely couple, I have to go downstairs and help the other Top Mechanics with something. Bye!" The Top Mechanic said as he ran down the staircase.

"Did he just call us a lovely couple?" Kellyn said, a blush very noticeable on his face.

"He absolutely did, I'm also a bit taken aback that most of the Ranger Union likes us, we're only Rank 5 Top Rangers and we're already well liked? Sounds good to me!" I said, also blushing quite heavily.

"I'm a bit surprised as well, I thought that since we just joined the Ranger Union, no one would really know us! I think we would be a really great couple together." Kellyn said as he muttered the last part.

"I agree Kellyn, I'm glad that people like us. You and I would be awesome together!" I said with a grin.

"W-we would? I-I mean, we would! I'm happy that y-you're my partner, Luana!" Kellyn said as he hugged me and started to blush.

"I'm glad you're my partner too, Kellyn. You're a great Ranger." I said, smiling.

Kellyn and I walked through the Operator's room to where the escalator was and as we reached the fourth floor, Kellyn and I could see the Tree of Harmony, it looked absolutely beautiful with its lush leaves. We also noticed Chairperson Erma by the base of the tree, and we walked over to her. When she turned around, she was surprised to see Kellyn.

"Hello Luana, it's good to see you! Kellyn, I'm happy you made a full recovery, I've never seen anyone make such a fast recovery from an injured leg! The both of you already know why I'm here, it's because the both of you are dependable, courageous and dedicated towards the protection of people, Pokémon and nature. I officially announce you, Luana Rakua as the third Top Ranger and Kellyn Hajime as the fourth Top Ranger along with the both of you being raised to Ranger Rank 5 for your work in the Cargo Ship. As Top Rangers, if something is considered a dire emergency, either one of you can designate it as a mission. Congratulations to the both of you, you earned this promotion!" Chairperson Erma said gleefully.

Kellyn and I started jumping for joy as we hugged each other out of sheer excitement, we were still surprised that we got promoted and we couldn't believe that we're actually Top Rangers!

"It's makes me happy to see two Rangers who get along so well, by the way, I was actually giving that Ranger Union Ranger's dance a placeholder date since all the other Rangers got their dates and dress attire. Of course, Mechanics and Operators have their dances separated, but if there was someone who was either a Ranger, Mechanic or an Operator and their date was another career, they would still be allowed to attend. Both of your first missions as Top Rangers is to fly to Pueltown and pick out dress attire, the colors that we're going for are blue and white, after that, the two of you have the rest of the day off! When you two come back, I'll show the both of you where your rooms are. Have fun dearies!" Chairperson Erma said.

"Sounds great, we'll definitely have fun! Thank you, Chairperson Erma, when we come back, we'll let you know!" Kellyn and I said as we walked to the escalator and went to the ground floor.

When we went outside, Kellyn saw a wild Staraptor and caught it almost instantly, I was overjoyed to see him so happy since he was stuck in his room for a few days. After Kellyn captured the Staraptor, we both climbed on its back as I held Kellyn closely. After a quick fly to Pueltown, we headed to a shop that sold affordable dress clothes and saw the store manager at the register.

"Hello there! Welcome, Kellyn and Luana, there aren't any problems in Pueltown today, are there?" The manager said as he smiled warmly.

"No, there isn't, Luana and I were looking for some nice dress clothes and we figured here would be the best place to shop!" Kellyn said.

"That's right, the Ranger Union is having a dance and since the colors are blue and white, we're wondering what would compliment us best." I said with a smile.

"Ah, the Ranger Union's dance! Every year, quite a few Rangers come here and buy some nice clothes, so do the Mechanics and Operators. Now let's see what would make you two really shine." The manager said as he looked around the store at certain dresses and suits.

Kellyn and I looked around to see any suitable looking clothes for the dance, we didn't want to be too flashy, we just wanted to look good for each other.

"Hmm…Luana, I think I found some good clothes with a nice pair of shoes, how do these look?" Kellyn said as he held up a blue suit jacket with a white dress shirt and a matching blue tie with black dress shoes.

"Wow, everything looks amazing, you should try it on!" I said, giddy with excitement.

Kellyn smiled as he went over to the changing room while I went and looked for a dress myself. I gasped slightly as I noticed a blue dress with a small white band that wrapped around the torso. Right as I found the dress, I saw a simple pair of white and blue heels. After I found everything I needed, Kellyn came out with the suit and he looked awesome.

"Kellyn, you look…amazing!" I said, marveling at how great he looked.

"You think so? Thanks Luana, that dress and those shoes you picked out look very elegant, I think you'll look great!" Kellyn said with a blush.

I got flustered and smiled at Kellyn while I went to the second changing room to see how the dress looked, as I came outside, Kellyn's face let me know.

"Luana, I knew that dress would look amazing on you, and it does! You look adorable with it, those flowers really make that dress look nice too and those heels look fantastic!" Kellyn said, making my face get hotter.

"Looks like the two of you got great taste, I'll ring you up when you're both ready." The manager said with a smile.

Kellyn and I both changed off of the clothes and shoes we were going to wear and held them in our hands while we went to the register with our Ranger uniforms back on.

"Well, let's see, the price for both the dress, suit and shoes will be five thousand Pokédollars. Will that be cash or card?" The manager said.

Kellyn and I both chipped in, I paid for his suit while he paid for the dress and we paid for each other's shoes.

"Goodbye Kellyn and Luana, hope you both have fun at the Ranger Union dance!" The manager said, waving at us.

We both waved back to the manager while we were exiting the store, I checked my Styler and noticed it was 5:07 P.M., as we were walking in Pueltown near a park with bags in hand, we decided to get some food at a nearby café, Kellyn and I both had a really delicious veggie sub and some hot chocolate, though Kellyn and I started laughing because some of the hot chocolate ended up on the top of my lip. After we finished our lunch, Kellyn and I noticed a Staraptor lazily flying around the area.

After Kellyn captured the Staraptor, we kindly asked it to fly us to the Ranger Union, it nodded and took off into the sky and in less than 5 minutes, we were at the Ranger Union. We thanked the Staraptor and Kellyn released it, we then went inside.

"Did you have fun Kellyn? I know I sure did." I said, as we wave to the receptionist and went up the escalator.

"I had a lot of fun with you, Luana, hopefully tomorrow, we can do some dancing." Kellyn said with a smile.

"I can't wait for that, hopefully I don't step on your toes!" I said as Kellyn and I both giggled. We went up to the fourth floor and saw Chairperson Erma by the Tree of Harmony, when we walked up to her, she turned to us and smiled.

"You two sure are quick on your feet! That suit and that dress will make you two look marvelous! Let me show the both of you to your room." Chairperson Erma said.

We all went down to the first floor where the receptionist was, at first, Kellyn and I were a bit confused, but then I recalled that I had never even gone to the first floor since I came in with Kellyn. It turns out that the rooms for the Rangers and Top Rangers were to the right of the front lobby once someone enters the Ranger Union, while there was another room that was used for Pokémon that the Top Rangers captured. It makes sense that I didn't even pay the area any attention because my main concern was Kellyn's health. I noticed a large hallway that had four doors on both sides with a sign saying that access is restricted to only individuals who work for the Ranger Union, there was also a door at the very end of the hallway that had a sign saying the room is for Pokémon and Rangers only.

"Now dearies, since you and Kellyn are the Ranger Union's third and fourth Top Rangers as well as being Ranger partners, you both share your own room, which you can rearrange the furniture or decorate it with your own styles however you two wish. The other Rangers are in dorms, four to a dorm. The other two Top Rangers are on the first door to the left, while your room is across from theirs. You'll meet them in the morning, perhaps the four of you can share breakfast together and get to know each other, I have the feeling that you four will dominate the dance tomorrow!" Chairperson Erma said.

"Thank you so much Chairperson Erma, we really appreciate your kindness, I'm rather excited to meet the other Top Rangers and get ready for the dance floor!" Kellyn said with a giggle.

"I agree, it's always nice to meet new people, you've been so generous to us Chairperson Erma, we'll do our best to make you proud! Hopefully there are some slow songs tomorrow at the dance!" I said, blushing while I thought of Kellyn.

"It's so touching to see Ranger partners get along so well, I would say your bond exceeds that of even the two other Top Rangers and they're absolutely in love with each other. I look forward to seeing the both of you at the dance." Chairperson Erma said.

"Thank you, Chairperson Erma, that means a lot. I'm glad that people know the bond I share with Luana, she's very important to me." Kellyn said.

"I agree, Kellyn is really important to me and I like to think the closeness we share is an important quality to being a Ranger!" I said.

"I can agree to both your statements, I'll be heading to bed now, have to get my beauty sleep. Good night dearies!" Chairperson Erma said as she walked over to the escalator.

"Good night!" Kellyn and I said as we went into our room.

When we entered our room, we were rather surprised by how spacious it was, the beds alone were gigantic and had a nightstand at the side of the bed with a Pokéball lamp on top. Towards the back of the room, there were two large dressers along with a stainless steel fridge, a small washing machine and a matching dryer microwave, sink, stove and a matching oven against the wall in the right-hand corner, there was also a large steel counter with cabinets on the bottom with four foldable chairs. There was a door to the bathroom on the left-hand side and…a love cushion in the corner by one of the beds. I wonder if Chairperson Erma, Barlow, Murph or any of the other individuals who liked us at the Ranger Union put that there, I imagine that all of them considered putting the love cushion in our room because they know how much we like each other. I noticed that to the side of the love cushion were two chairs and a big table.

"Wow, this room is awesome, though those beds are going to have to be moved a bit closer. You know I can't sleep alone. I wonder why that love cushion is there, I can understand the kitchen appliances and the bed, but a love cushion?" Kellyn said, a small blush showing on his face.

"I agree, this room is pretty nice overall, the love cushion seems out of place, but I like it! Let me go ahead and move that bed from where that bathroom is to the bed with the love cushion." I said, feeling myself blush just as much as Kellyn.

Kellyn and I moved the first bed so that it would be facing towards the bathroom since we decided that the headrest would be better against the wall, we did the same thing to the other bed so that way, they would be side by side while I went ahead and moved the nightstand to the side of the bed.

"Hmm, do you think we should move any other furniture?" I said.

"Not for now, I think this looks fine as it is. We could probably decorate it later with something that makes it unique though. Maybe we could get some Eevee or Mudkip themed items?" Kellyn said.

"That would be a great idea, you sound excited to decorate! I think a mixture of both would be nice, an Eevee poster would be pretty cool!" I said, yawning.

"An Eevee poster would look great in here, but it looks like someone's tired. We should head to bed, it's already 2 A.M. you know." Kellyn said with a smirk.

I checked my Styler and saw it was 2:11. A.M. Wait a second…it's that late?

"How is it that late already? I thought you were pulling a fast one on me! I'm ready to head to bed." I said as I went to the bathroom and quickly changed into my pajamas and put my Ranger uniform in the dresser, after I did so, I climbed into bed.

"Haha, I don't think I could be so slick, you'd probably just check the time on your Styler!" Kellyn said as he went to the bathroom and came out a few minutes later, after Kellyn changed into his pajamas, he also put his Ranger uniform in the other dresser, but he hesitated for a moment by the bed as he longingly looked at me.

"That's true, our Stylers are pretty handy. By the way, is there something behind us? You seem to be rather focused at something. Is there a Zubat or a Crobat ready to annoy us with its screeching?" I said, trying to make it seem like I didn't notice how lovingly Kellyn was looking at me as he laid down on the other bed next to me.

"No no, there's no annoying Zubat or Crobat to destroy our ears with its screeching, I was just looking at you." Kellyn said as he used the Altaria blanket to cover his blushing face.

"Looking at me, huh? That's so adorable! Let's head to bed, we'll be having fun at the dance tomorrow! Good night." I said, my face feeling very hot.

"Thanks Luana, you're pretty amazing yourself, I'm excited for tomorrow. Good night!" Kellyn said.

We held hands as I felt myself falling asleep and later on in the night, I had to go to the bathroom. When I finished washing my hands, I felt the back of my hair stand up. I felt a bit uneasy as to why I felt this way but as I exited the bathroom, I faintly saw the silhouette of a man sitting on the loveseat and since I could hear Kellyn lightly snoring I knew it wasn't him. I didn't know who this man was, but since he'll be prepared to attack, I'll do everything I can to protect Kellyn, especially in his sleep.

It seems that the man didn't notice me or pay me any mind, so I tried making as little noise as possible while I was moving towards where Kellyn is sleeping so that I can attempt to wake him up. If Kellyn woke up, it would be two against one and we might possibly have an advantage unless this intruder has a Pokémon to assist him.

Right when I was about to reach Kellyn's bed, the man's head turned in my direction as he slowly walked to me, he didn't appear to have a weapon or a Pokémon with him, but I wasn't going to assume I would be safe and then end up with getting hit with a thunderbolt or a flamethrower. I yelled for Kellyn to help me as loudly as I could to wake him up, he immediately got out of bed and got in between the intruder and myself. However, I decided to protect Kellyn by switching our positions so that the man would be closer to me than Kellyn.

Upon noticing Kellyn, the man continued to walk forward until I noticed the light switch, I went to turn on the light to see that the intruder was…Kellyn?! What's happening? This Kellyn looks completely different from the one I know and love, this Kellyn's eyes are gray and full of hatred. I turned to look at the Kellyn that I know, and I see him frozen in fear, his eyes locked onto the doppelganger. Right as the other Kellyn started to approach us, I woke up.

I woke up in a cold sweat and looked at the loveseat, breathing a sigh of relief when I noticed that there wasn't a man sitting there. I looked over at Kellyn and noticed he was still sound asleep, I would have felt horrible waking him up just to tell him I had a bad dream so I went ahead and went to the bathroom. Unlike in the nightmare, once I finished doing my business and washed my hands, I didn't feel the back of my hair stand up. When I left the bathroom, I looked back at the loveseat and didn't see a man sitting down though I still checked around the entire room cautiously and was happy that there was no one else there.

Feeling relieved, I climbed back into bed and checked my Styler, I saw that it was 5:12 A.M., after putting it back on the nightstand, I was about to close my eyes and attempt to sleep when I heard muttering. I turned my head to see that it was Kellyn muttering in his sleep, it looked like he was having an awful nightmare.


	8. Chapter 8: Comfort and Training

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, Pokemon Ranger, or the characters in this story.**

Chapter 8: Comfort and Training

"L-Luana…help…I-I'm scared…" Kellyn muttered as he started to thrash in his sleep.

While I wouldn't ever want to wake Kellyn up when he's sleeping, seeing him so fearful made my heart wrench and I started to shake Kellyn awake. Kellyn woke up in a cold sweat, similar to how I did when I had my nightmare, his face looked like he was both absolutely terrified and confused as he looked around the room.

"Luana?! You're okay! I had a horrible nightmare!" Kellyn said as he hugged me.

"Yes Kellyn, I'm okay, you had a bad nightmare too?" I said as I tightened the hug.

"I-I did, in the dream, I went to the bathroom and when I came outside, there w-was the silhouette of a woman sitting on that loveseat. When I tried walking c-closer to you in an attempt to wake you up, the woman didn't move at all, however, when I was about to get really close and wake you up, the woman turned her head in my direction and s-slowly started walking towards me. After she started walking closer, I screamed your name so that you would wake up, especially because I wouldn't want her to harm you. T-Then you got out of bed and you put yourself between me and the intruder, but I was concerned for your safety, so I switched our positions. She kept walking towards us and I noticed the light switch, when I flicked it on, I saw what the woman looked like. The woman…looked a-almost like you. The only difference w-was that her eyes were red and they were full of hatred, right as she was about to get us was when you woke me up. T-thank you Luana." Kellyn said, his whole body shuddering as he told me of his horrible nightmare.

"Kellyn, take deep breaths, I'm here with you. I actually had a very similar dream except that in my dream, the intruder was male and his eyes were gray. It was so scary how much he looked just like you besides that one difference." I said, doing my best to console Kellyn by gently hugging him.

"Thank you Luana, I feel more relaxed now. The odd part is that our dreams were nearly identical and that's something I would say is frightening…I wonder what that nightmare meant, it was such a terrifying one. I've never experienced any nightmare like that before…it felt so real." Kellyn said, shivering slightly in my arms.

"You're welcome Kellyn, hearing you muttering for help really scared me. I never had a nightmare that bad either, but it was scary to say the least." I said.

"Maybe we should try getting to sleep, after such a scary nightmare, it'll be hard, but I'll try." Kellyn said.

"I know, if anything, that nightmare makes me afraid to sleep but if it'll make you happy, I'll try my best to fall asleep." I said with a smile.

Kellyn smiled back as he put his head on his pillow, while I did the same, Kellyn fell asleep within minutes. However, I could feel Kellyn shuddering again, his blanket was on him the whole time, so I knew he wasn't cold, but there's the chance he could be having another nightmare. I was thinking of waking Kellyn up, but I realized he always felt more at ease when I held his hand, so when I intertwined my hand with his, I noticed that his shuddering stopped completely.

_'__Poor Kellyn, I'm glad I was able to be there for him when he needed it the most.' _I thought.

Feeling elated that I could be there for Kellyn when he needed it, I decided it was best for me to sleep. In the morning, I woke up and softly yawned and when I looked next to me, I saw Kellyn still asleep, looking much more relaxed compared to earlier. I checked my Styler and saw that it was 10:23 A.M. After I finished checking my Styler, I noticed Kellyn had woken up. Afterwards, we got ready and then took out our dress clothes and put them on the bed so that when we finish having breakfast with the two other Top Rangers, we can simply head right back to our room and not have to panic and look for our clothes. Before we headed out the door, Kellyn turned around and gave me a tight hug.

"Was that hug because of how I helped you with that nightmare earlier?" I said.

"Yes, that nightmare was horrible but since you were there to comfort me, it wasn't so bad." Kellyn said, smiling.

When we headed out the room in our Eevee pajamas, Kellyn and I were wondering when we would meet the other two Top Rangers, we figured trying to get their attention would be a good idea, so when we saw a little Eevee squeaky toy hanging over the door, I decided to squeeze it. It sounded exactly like an Eevee and it was loud enough to get anyone's attention. After waiting for a few minutes and hearing no one come to the door or open it, we decided to go to the cafeteria since we were hungry.

As we entered the cafeteria, I was taken aback to notice a man and a woman sitting at a nearby table, as I was used to there being no one else here but the chefs while I was taking care of Kellyn. Their style was a bit different than most Rangers, I thought it looked rather nice, the guy wearing a red hat and the girl having long teal hair. I figured even if they somehow weren't the Top Rangers that Chairperson Erma told us about, it would still be good to make some new friends. Even though we were hungry, Kellyn and I decided to not get any breakfast until we knew the other two Rangers already had breakfast or were about to get some anyways, we would have felt bad if we got something to eat and the Rangers were possibly waiting for us.

What Kellyn and I thought would be a good idea was to walk over to the side of their table and politely ask them if we could sit with them, as Kellyn and I approached, they noticed us and smiled, we also smiled back and waved to them.

"Hi, my name's Luana, it's nice to meet the both of you! If it's not much trouble, do you mind if we sit here?" I said eagerly.

"Hello, I'm Kellyn, it's good to meet the both of you. What are your names?" Kellyn said a bit nervously.

The two Rangers looked at each other and then back to us and started to grin.

"Hi! So, you two are the pair that everyone's fawning over, Kellyn Hajime and Luana Rakua! It's nice to meet the both of you, my name's Sven and this is my Ranger partner, Wendy! We're the first and second Top Rangers, respectively. Of course the two of you can sit here, no need to ask! Wendy and I just sat down ourselves." Sven said.

Kellyn and I sat down while Kellyn smiled at me, that was his way of saying that it was a good idea we didn't eat first since Sven told us they just arrived.

"Aw, Sven I wanted to introduce myself! Sven's right though, most of the people in the Ranger Union are pretty much saying the two of you are an absolutely great couple! You both even have matching pajamas! As my partner said, my name's Wendy, though people always call me the Flying Ranger because of how often I fly on my Staraptor. It's great to meet the two of you, I hope you're both ready to dance tonight!" Wendy said.

"T-thank you, it's good to meet the both of you as well! I figured that you two were the other Top Rangers! We're definitely ready to dance, though I'm not the best, it'll be fun and that's what matters." Kellyn said with a smile while also blushing slightly.

"I agree, it's always good to make friends, I'm glad that people think we're so great together, it makes my heart flutter. While I'm also not the best at dancing, I'll try my best!" I said, feeling my face get hot.

"You guys are adorable, that's why most of the Ranger Union likes you guys so much! Are you guys hungry? We were just about to get some pancakes with tons of syrup!" Sven said while grinning.

"Of course I'm hungry, I could eat at least three pancakes! Let's get some with our new friends!" Wendy said as she got up from the table.

"Yeah, we're starving, time to eat some pancakes!" Kellyn and I said simultaneously.

"Wow, they even say the same things, they really are a wonderful couple!" Sven said.

Kellyn and I chuckled as we picked up some plates and trays and we each got eight pancakes, some syrup, and a cup of Miltank milk while Sven and Wendy got the same thing we did, except they both got three pancakes instead of eight.

When we all got back to the table and sat down, Wendy and Sven's eyes looked like they were the size of our pancakes while their jaws looked like they would hit the floor.

"A-are you two going to eat…all of those pancakes?!" Sven said, surprised.

"I-I think they are…I thought three pancakes was a lot, but eight?!" Wendy said, stunned.

"Heheh, sorry, we're pretty big eaters, pancakes are my favorite things to eat for breakfast!" I said, grinning.

"I agree, pancakes are really great, plus, we do use a lot of energy running around Almia, though we haven't done any missions recently because I wasn't doing too good and had to stay in bed. I overworked myself and was told to stay in bed for a week but thanks to Luana, I only had to stay in bed for about two to three days" Kellyn said, smiling.

"I didn't mind taking care of you, I was concerned for your safety." I said, feeling my face get hot again.

"We heard about Kellyn having to recover because of a leg injury, correct? I believe I heard it from a Top Operator. I'm glad you're doing much better now, especially because you have Luana by your side." Sven said with a smile.

"I know Sven, it sure seems like Luana and Kellyn are in love! All joking aside, we were worried about your leg injury and we didn't know how bad it was. When we heard you had to stay in bed for a week, Sven and I figured it must have been bad, you must have overworked yourself really hard. We're glad you're okay, but then again, considering Luana is your partner, it makes sense that you recovered so fast!" Wendy said with a grin.

"Heheh, Luana's amazing, I don't know where I would be without her. She was there the whole time to keep me safe and even fed me. I'd say I got better because of how much Luana cares." Kellyn said, blushing heavily.

"Thanks Kellyn, I enjoyed keeping you company, you're such a joy to be around!" I said, my face still feeling hot as Kellyn and I turned to our pancakes.

"Looks like it's time to eat! The pancakes are still hot!" Kellyn and I said as we started eating our breakfast, though in no time, Kellyn and I were finished with the pancakes and the milk while Sven and Wendy were halfway done with their third pancake, when they saw that we were already finished, their eyes got wide again.

"How do you two eat so fast?! Wendy's over here trying to finish her last pancake and you two are already done?!" Sven said.

"Wow, here I was thinking I was a fast eater, remind me to never challenge either of you to an eating contest!" Wendy said with a smile.

"Don't worry, if you ever did, we would go easy on you." I said as I drank my Miltank milk.

"We would? I mean…yeah, we would! That breakfast was pretty good, just what I needed." Kellyn said as he looked at me and started to blush while he finished off his milk.

"Well now that we've finished eating, how about we do some training? Wendy and I might be Top Rangers, but Chairperson Erma only made us Top Rangers a few hours before you guys!" Sven said.

"Really? Did you guys do training before you waited for us in the cafeteria? When we went to your room, we only saw a little Eevee squeaky toy, but when we squeezed it, no one came outside." I said.

"Don't worry Luana, we didn't do any training! We just had to do some paperwork for Chairperson Erma, it took about thirty minutes or so. Sven, I told you that Eevee toy was a good idea, too bad we couldn't hear it from where we were!" Wendy said with a smile.

"Paperwork huh? Must have been tedious even though it only took a half hour, before we start training, do you mind if Luana and I change into our Ranger uniforms? I don't think we'll be able to do much training in Eevee pajamas, as comfy as they are." Kellyn said, pointing to our Eevee pajamas as we both snickered.

"That's right, training in pajamas wouldn't be the best thing since they'll get messed up pretty easily, we'll wait for you guys and when the two of you are finished changing, just squeak on the Eevee toy." Sven said.

"Sounds like a plan!" Kellyn said.

Kellyn and I entered our room and quickly changed into our Ranger uniforms, afterwards, we headed back outside to see Wendy and Sven by the entrance to their room.

"You guys didn't take long, those uniforms look awesome on the both of you!" Sven said.

"I agree, you two look great! I'm telling you Sven, they're so wonderful together." Wendy said with a smile.

"Thanks guys, we're ready for some training! Is there a training area in the Ranger Union?" Kellyn said, excited to capture some Pokémon.

"We definitely are, I was wondering the same thing, I don't think Chairperson Erma mentioned anything about a training area." I said.

"There's actually a secret place that only Top Rangers have access to, it's actually on this floor, it's in the area that the receptionists are. Come on, we'll show you guys where it is!" Sven said as he jogged to the back wall of the lobby with Wendy following him closely behind.

As Kellyn and I jogged over to where Sven and Wendy went, I saw Sven place a palm print on the center of the wall. After Sven took his palm off, the back of the wall opened up, leading to a giant hallway that was designed just like the rest of the Ranger Union, with the wall being a bright color and having lights mounted into the ceiling. As we all walked through, we saw that there was another door at the end that went into the floor when we walked up to it.

Upon going through the second door, we found ourselves in a giant room, there was a holographic projector in the center of it and some chairs and a table that were next to it.

"Wow, this place is amazing, I assume the holographic projector allows us to catch Pokémon and then anyone else who wants to watch can do so. Right?" Kellyn said.

"That's correct! Are you sure you didn't do any training here?" Sven said with a grin.

"Hahah, no, I didn't! I just assumed since we were coming here to train and this room only has the holographic projector, chairs and a table, this had to have been the place!" Kellyn said with a smile.

_'__Kellyn looks so charming…I'm glad he and I are Top Rangers together.' _I thought to myself.

I must have had a funny look on my face, because Wendy came over to me with a grin on her face.

"I knew you have a crush on Kellyn, do you think he'll kiss you at the dance? I'm hoping Sven will do the same with me, I've been talking with him about the dance coming up." Wendy said, whispering.

Kellyn looked over at our direction and blushed slightly as he smiled at me, then continued listening to what Sven was saying.

"I feel that Kellyn will kiss me, it makes me excited just thinking about it. As for if Sven will kiss you, I think he might, it all depends on how good you two get along. I know you're both Ranger partners, but are you two compatible?" I said.

"Well, Sven and I get along really great and I know he feels the same way, but Sven's more private about his feelings, he doesn't want anyone to see us being cuddly, you know? What about you and Kellyn?" Wendy said, arching an eyebrow.

"I get what you mean, I think if you open up to Sven, he'll definitely appreciate that, especially with how close you two are. As for Kellyn and I, he does feel the same way I do, he's a bit shy just like I am, but as you've seen, Kellyn and I definitely get along." I said.

"Thanks Luana, you and Kellyn will be a great couple! I'll listen to your advice and tell Sven how I feel during the dance. Let's walk back over to them just in case Sven wonders what we're talking about." Wendy said with a smile.

I nodded and both of us walked back over to Kellyn and Sven. When we walked up to them, Kellyn smiled at me, which made me feel like my heart was going to melt.

"Hi ladies, Sven was just telling me that we could try a few different Pokémon to get an idea of their attacks, we can't do legendaries, but we could do some tough Pokémon." Kellyn said.

"That's right, almost any Pokémon that's located in Almia is one that we can try. We can only do one Pokémon at a time but it's always good to practice. Who's going first?" Sven said with a grin.

"I'll go first, I want to see if I can catch a Toxicroak!" Wendy said.

"Ooh a Toxicroak, that's a tough one, good luck Wendy!" I said.

We all went over to the holographic projector and saw a touch screen built into the projector itself. Sven inputted for a Toxicroak to be projected as well as all of its attacks so Wendy can get an idea of what to expect when facing one. After Sven typed in for a Toxicroak to appear, a faint Toxicroak showed up in the center of the room.


	9. Chapter 9: The Dance

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or the Pokemon Ranger series.**

Chapter 9: The Dance

"Woah, that's amazing! I think I'll go next!" Sven said.

We watched as Wendy started to battle with the projected Pokémon, at first, it gave her some trouble because of how much it was jumping around, as well as the poison puddles it spat out as well as toxic gas, of course, it didn't actually damage Wendy or her Styler because it wasn't an actual Toxicroak. We cheered Wendy on so she would feel more energetic considering she's never caught one before. After dodging its puddles just like she would with the real thing, she ended up capturing it and the Toxicroak slowly vanished like a Gastly. When Wendy was finished, we all started clapping for her, happy that she was able to catch a Toxicroak for the first time.

"That thing was moving so fast, I'm glad I was able to catch it! Thanks for the support guys!" Wendy said, gleeful that she was able to pull off such a capture.

"Okay, I'll go next guys, I'm not too sure what Pokémon to go up against…hmm…got it!" Sven said as he went over to the projector.

As we were wondering what Sven decided to pick, we saw it as it began to show up in the middle of the room, it was a Kangaskhan.

"A Kangaskhan huh? Be prepared Sven, I heard they're tough!" Wendy said.

As Sven started to do loops around the Kangaskhan, Kellyn put his hand on my shoulder, which made my face feel hot.

"Good thing our Stylers can't take damage here, Kangaskhan's Hyper Beams are very powerful! Are you ready to go after Sven, Luana?" Kellyn said.

"M-me? You want me to go next? Don't you want to have a turn?" I said.

"It would be nice to try capturing a Pokémon before you, but I have to see how my partner does against a Pokémon she's never faced!" Kellyn said with a smile.

"I understand, it's always good to try your best, I think I know what Pokémon to try capturing once Sven's done." I said, smiling back at him.

As we looked at Sven trying to capture the Kangaskhan, we noticed its' Hyper Beams were causing Sven some trouble, however, we continued to cheer Sven on, as he was able to keep running around the Kangaskhan and avoided its Hyper Beams, eventually catching the Pokémon.

"Great work Sven, that Kangaskhan gave you some trouble at first, but you caught it!" Wendy said, blushing slightly.

"Phew, it really did, I'm glad it gave me a challenge, at least now I know what to expect when trying to capture a Kangaskhan!" Sven said, slightly out of breath.

As I went over to the projector, I couldn't help but look at Kellyn, he's always so happy to be around me. As I inputted what Pokémon I wanted to battle, I saw it appear in the center of the room, it was the Pokémon that I've always heard about for being notoriously fast, Weavile. I started to think of picking another Pokémon until I heard Kellyn give me encouragement.

"Luana, you got this! That Weavile can't take you out!" Kellyn said with his fist pumping in the air.

_'__Kellyn's right, I'm a Top Ranger, I have to at least attempt capturing this Weavile, plus its attacks can't damage my Styler. I have to make it seem like it's the real Pokémon I'm fighting otherwise when I do encounter the actual Pokémon, I'll have no idea what its attacks could be!' _I thought.

Now full of adrenaline, I gave Kellyn a grin as I went up to the Weavile, preparing to capture it. At first, just like with Sven catching the Kangaskhan, the Weavile gave me some trouble, however, I heard Sven, Wendy and Kellyn cheering me on. Eventually, the fight got harder as Weavile kept moving around even faster than it was before, soon, I was able to only hear Kellyn's voice cheering me on over Sven and Wendy. Weavile was really frustrating because of how it would hop around and then start to attack with Night Slash, which made black waves fly towards me. After making loops around the Weavile while it was hopping around and avoiding its Night Slash, I was able to capture it.

"Yes! Luana you did it, great work! I'm so glad you were able to capture that Weavile, I know how much speedy Pokémon bother you!" Kellyn said as he ran to me and gave me an embrace, lifting me up in the air and making me blush even after he put me down.

"Wow, Kellyn's a great supporter, I think the whole Ranger Union heard his cheering!" Sven said, chuckling.

"I agree, I thought it was very sweet how Kellyn started to cheer louder and louder, even as the Weavile continued to attack relentlessly." Wendy said, giggling a bit.

"Thanks everyone, I was starting to wonder if I could even catch that Weavile. I'm glad I had all of you to support me, especially you, Kellyn!" I said, blushing slightly.

"You're welcome Luana, that's what partners are for!" Kellyn said, a small blush on his face.

"Now that Luana, Wendy and I are done with brief training, how about you go next, Kellyn? Pick whatever Pokémon you haven't faced before and do your best!" Sven said with a smile.

Kellyn walked over to the projector and after typing in whichever Pokémon he wanted to battle, he ran to the center, eager to try capturing it. After a moment, a Tyranitar appeared and we started cheering for Kellyn to do his best as he started to dodge the Tyranitar's attacks. Despite the Tyranitar's attacks not being able to damage Kellyn's Styler, I was still worried about how the ground actually look like it was torn up, getting close to Kellyn even though I know it couldn't actually hurt him. The Tyranitar wasn't able to just tear up the ground, but also stomp its foot to make boulders fall and was even able to launch a Hyper Beam at Kellyn. After Kellyn dodged a giant boulder, I started to cheer louder for him so that he could get more encouragement to catch the Tyranitar. I wasn't surprised he chose such a dangerous Pokémon, he's always looking to get better at capturing. After dodging falling boulders and the torn up ground, Kellyn caught the Tyranitar without much of an issue compared to me, Sven or Wendy as the area returned to normal. When I looked over to Sven and Wendy, they looked absolutely surprised that Kellyn could catch such a dangerous Pokémon.

"That wasn't too bad, Capture complete." Kellyn said as he winked at me, making me blush.

"Kellyn, you did an amazing job! That Tyranitar didn't give you much trouble and you handled it like it was nothing! You're such a wonderful Ranger, I'm so happy you're my partner!" I said, running up to Kellyn and giving him a hug, lifting him up in the air.

As Sven and Wendy walked up to us, they couldn't help but smile.

"Wow, Kellyn, are you sure you were in bed for a few days? That Tyranitar and its attacks may have been a hologram, but it was just as scary as the real thing, you did awesome!" Sven said.

"That's true, it doesn't seem like you were recovering, if anything, it was like you did more training than all three of us combined!" Wendy said.

"Thanks guys, I don't think I could have caught that Tyranitar if you guys weren't cheering for me, especially you, Luana." Kellyn said as he looked at me, his hazel eyes dilating as he blushed.

"Y-you're welcome, Kellyn, I'm glad you were able to catch that Tyranitar. You really did a great job!" I said, blushing heavily as I gazed into Kellyn's eyes.

"That's so adorable, Luana is really fawning over Kellyn! Since we're all tuckered out, would you guys like to head back to the main building?" Sven said as Wendy snickered.

"Sure, that would be a good idea, are you and Wendy going to be doing any missions or quests?" I asked as we walked out of the training room and went back to the main building.

"Hmm, well, Wendy and I don't have any missions or quests to do for now. The dance is going to be until 7 P.M. and right now it's only 5:32 P.M. so we got about an hour and a half before the dance starts. Where do you guys want to go?" Sven said.

"I got an idea, how about we go to the Altru Park? It's such a beautiful place and many people go there to propose or go there to relax!" Wendy said.

"Altru Park? Sounds like a good idea, I always like admiring the flowers there." Kellyn said.

"We better get going then, those flowers always look great!" I said, grabbing Kellyn's hand as we ran out the door towards Altru Park.

As Kellyn and I arrived at Altru Park, we saw gorgeous flowers that were pink, red and white, they were blooming and the flowers looked absolutely amazing. As I was admiring all the lovely flowers, I wanted to show them to Kellyn since I know he liked them too, however, when I turned around, he wasn't anywhere near me. I assumed maybe he was admiring the flowers elsewhere but I figured I would call him on his Styler to see where he was. After a few seconds, Kellyn picked up.

"Hi Luana! I'm just picking up something really quick, sorry about that! I'll come running back soon!" Kellyn said, his voice not sounding very far away.

"Hi Kellyn, don't worry! If you're picking something up, you don't need to rush back, take your time. I'll be admiring the pretty flowers!" I said.

"I told you I'd be back quick!" Kellyn said.

"AHHH! You didn't need to run, I hope I didn't rush you! What did you pick up, Kellyn?" I said with a smile.

Kellyn had a blush on his face as he opened up a small bag that had a rectangular box inside, it was wrapped in a red bow. Kellyn didn't say anything as he placed it in my hands, I looked at him and saw how much he was blushing, he looked so happy, so I opened the box and inside was a beautiful white rose with a shimmering stem. I examined the rose and how it looked, it wasn't too heavy, but I could see how intricate it was in detail. The rose wasn't made from glass, but instead, it was made from thin sheet metal, with the stem being made from the same material. When the sun hit it, the rose went from white to a gorgeous rainbow design.

"I figured that since you and I both like roses, what would be a better thing to give you than a rose? You might be wondering where I bought it, but I actually didn't. My father made one of these for my mom when they got married, it's a symbol of beauty and peace. I actually made this rose and my father told me to give it to someone who I care about. Since my dad was around Altru Park, I quickly asked him if he could bring it and he did, I've never seen him so happy. Hopefully it's something that you think matches your elegance." Kellyn said, his face getting redder than a Tamato berry.

"Kellyn, the rose that you made is so intricately designed, it's absolutely stunning and I'm so overjoyed that you gave something so beautiful to me. I…I can't even describe how much I love it, though I definitely love you much more! Thank you so much Kellyn!" I said as I hugged Kellyn tightly.

-Kellyn's POV-

I couldn't help but smile when Luana said that, she's such an amazing person and giving her that rose was something I simply had to do. After pulling from the embrace, Luana and I gazed into each other's eyes, being surrounded by these lovely flowers felt amazing, but being next to Luana…was wonderful. Right as Luana and I leaned in closer and almost got close enough to kiss, I heard Sven running along with Wendy. As we turned around with the small bag in my hand, Sven and Wendy ran up to where we were.

"Hi guys, it was hard to find the both of you but now we're here, sorry we took so long, Wendy needed my help with fixing her Styler! If you guys would like, would you want to get something to eat at one of the nearby cafés? I know a really great one nearby!" Sven asked.

"Sure, we'll go with you guys!" Luana and I said. Even though we were a bit irritated our kiss was ruined, we were still prepared to kiss during the dance and we figured that would be a great time to do so. Wendy noticed how annoyed we looked and came over to us as we were all walking to whichever café Sven thought would have great food.

"Sorry guys, I was trying to get Sven to help me so you two could get to kiss. It was hard to do because the only way I could think of is asking him to talk about Altru Park or pretend like my Styler was broken. If my Styler were to get broken, that wouldn't be cheap, so I simply asked Sven to tell me some basic information about Altru Park which he was all too eager to do. I'm glad he and I are getting a bit closer, hopefully you'll give Luana a kiss, Kellyn." Wendy whispered.

"That's okay, thanks for trying, we'll definitely kiss at the dance, right Kellyn?" Luana said as she blushed slightly.

"Y-yes Luana, w-we will. Thanks for helping us out Wendy, I'm excited for the dance!" I said, my face feeling hot.

"No problem guys, we're almost to the café too! The dance will start in a bit, right now it's 6:20 and the dance starts at 7 P.M.!" Wendy said eagerly.

As we entered the café, Luana and I ordered the same thing, a giant bowl of pasta filled with vegetables and sauce and a glass of lemonade while Wendy and Sven ordered a veggie sub with a small salad. Wendy and Sven grew wide eyed seeing us with these giant bowls of food in front of us as Luana and I started to eat, just like when it was breakfast time.

"I knew you guys love to eat food but these bowls of pasta are even bigger than those pancakes you guys had for breakfast!" Wendy said.

"I don't think I could eat that entire bowl of pasta even if I was starving!" Sven said.

"We do need our energy considering how much we run and walk, I already finished most of the food while you guys were talking!" I said, snickering while I showed them the bowl was almost empty which made their mouths drop in surprise.

"That's right Kellyn, getting our energy is important because as Rangers, people and Pokémon need our help!" Luana said while she drank some of her lemonade.

"Wendy and I are just surprised at how fast the both of you eat your food, I'm only halfway done with my sub while Wendy just finished her sub and is halfway done with her salad." Sven said.

"It's a good thing the both of us eat lightly then, we'll be able to dance a bit better than if we ate a lot of food." I said, smirking slightly as Luana and I finished our pasta.

"Lightly?! The both of you ate more food just now than Sven and I eat in a single day combined!" Wendy said.

"We do? This is how much we usually eat!" Luana said.

We both started to chuckle a little bit as Sven and Wendy finished their food, they're fun to be around, I'm glad Luana and I are Top Rangers with them.

"Well now that we've gotten our lunch, how about we head back to the Ranger Union? The dance is going to start soon, right now is 6:35 P.M.!" Sven said as he checked his Styler.

After we paid for the food, we left Altru Park and we captured some Dodrio to make our walk back to the Ranger Union quicker. When we arrived, we released the Dodrio and I checked my Styler.

"It's 6:50 P.M., where's the dance going to be?" I said as we went into the Ranger Union.

"It's going to be on the second floor, the third door, it's a pretty big dance floor from what I heard. Wendy and I are going to get ready, we'll be waiting for you guys!" Sven said as he and Wendy went into their room.

Luana and I went into our room and put on our dress clothes, we both looked really great together and I could tell she felt the same way. I took out the rose from its box and went over to Luana.

"Luana, would you like to wear this rose during the dance? I know it's not a real rose but I figured it would suit your dress." I said, blushing.

"Of course I would, it was a gift from you! I think the rose will match nicely." Luana said, putting the white rose in her hair.

"Wow, that dress looks really good on you, especially with the rose in your hair. Are you ready to go?" I said.

"T-thanks, your suit is amazing, it really makes you look awesome. I'm ready to go when you are." Luana said, blushing slightly as we exited our room.

When we came outside the room, we saw that Sven and Wendy weren't there, since the Eevee toy was still there, I decided to squeeze it, the loud squeak echoing throughout the room. After waiting for a few seconds, Sven and Wendy came out, they looked great! Sven had a white suit jacket with a blue dress shirt and a white bowtie while Wendy had a white dress with a blue floral pattern. We figured that talking while going to where the dance was would be the best idea since we wouldn't want to be late.

"Wow, you guys look amazing, you look pretty in that dress, Wendy!" Luana said.

"I agree, the two of you look really good together!" I said.

"Thanks guys, you both look awesome too, that rose looks really beautiful Luana!" Wendy said.

"Thanks! Kellyn made it for me, I love how pretty it looks, when it goes in the sun, it goes from white to a dazzling rainbow metallic shine!" Luana said.

"That's amazing! It looks so beautiful, Kellyn really put a lot of time into it!" Sven said as we headed up to where the dance was taking place.

"We're here, let's dance!" I said as we all went inside. Upon entering, we noticed that there were quite a few Rangers dancing already, with a big banner at the end of the room saying "Welcome to all our new Rangers!". There was a DJ underneath the banner and he was controlling some blue and white lights as well as having his Chatot, Wigglytuff and Chimecho make some music. The lights really incorporated the theme Chairperson Erma had going as well as there being some tables of food and several seating areas for Rangers to sit down and eat.

"Wendy and I will start dancing, if you guys would like, you can join us later. Have fun!" Sven said as he took Wendy's hand, causing her to blush.

We waved to them as we decided where the best place to dance was, eventually, the area by the food was the best choice.

"If we're hungry, all we have to do is walk over and get something to eat!" Luana said, giggling.


	10. Chapter 10: Friends

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, Pokemon Ranger, or the characters in this story.**

Chapter 10: Friends

I couldn't help but laugh at her joke, Luana's always such a joy to be around and tonight is going be the night I kiss her. Dancing was bit difficult to do, but eventually, Luana and I got the hang of it, we didn't end up stepping on each other's toes or anything, we actually got quite a few people clapping as they saw us dancing. After we danced to about ten songs or so, we decided to sit down and rest our feet.

"Luana, you look absolutely beautiful tonight, you're really good at dancing!" I said, feeling my face get hot.

"Thanks Kellyn, you're an awesome dancer yourself, you look really handsome in that suit!" Luana said as I felt my face get hotter.

"Hello everyone, I hope you're all having a great time! We have one final dance going on tonight, it's a lovely slow dance so get your partners and get ready to have fun!" The DJ said.

Luana and I went to the center of the room to slow dance as the song came on, as the music started playing, Luana started to shiver slightly.

"Are you okay? You're not coming down with a cold, are you?" I asked, concerned.

"Yes I'm fine, I don't feel sick it's just that, it feels good to be so close to you." Luana said as she started to blush.

I smiled when I saw how happy Luana looked, as the slow dance continued, we continued to get closer to each other as our lips almost touched. As Luana closed her eyes, we both pulled closer to each other as we passionately kissed. After a while, we stopped kissing as we gazed into each other's eyes.

"T-that was great Kellyn, you really know how to kiss and you're a great Top Ranger as well." Luana said, blushing heavily.

"You're pretty great yourself, Luana." I said, my face probably as red as a Tamato berry as Luana and I embraced.

"Okay everyone, the annual Ranger dance is now over, thank you for coming everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful time with each other!" The DJ said.

Luana and I both smiled to each other as we walked out of the dance hall, we decided to go to the main lobby since no one else was there besides a few receptionists, when we reached the bottom of the steps, I pulled Luana in for a quick kiss.

"Kellyn, I always feel so overjoyed whenever you're around me. Did you have fun at the dance?" Luana said.

"I feel the same way whenever I'm next to you, being close to you makes me so happy. As for the dance, of course I had fun, I was with you after all." I said, smiling.

"Really? I'm glad that you finally kissed me, I was waiting for that." Luana said, blushing as we walked to our room.

"Sorry for having you wait so long, do you want to head inside and relax a bit? That dancing wore me out!" I said.

"I'd love to go inside, I've never danced so much before!" Luana said, as we both went inside our room.

After I went to the bathroom and changed off from my dress clothes and into my pajamas, I went outside and placed them inside the dresser as I noticed the rose was neatly placed as well. As I turned around, I saw Luana was in her Eevee pajamas and after I saw her putting the beds next to each other, she climbed into bed. Seeing this made me smile, I did the same as I checked my Styler to see the time, it was only 11:35 P.M., but we were exhausted.

"Luana, I had a great time with you today. Even though I always enjoy spending time with you, today was very special, after all, I was able to kiss you. Good night Luana." I said, feeling my face get hot.

"Thanks Kellyn! I always enjoy being around you too, I also thought today was a wonderful day, that kiss was amazing. I can't wait for what we're going to do tomorrow! Good night Kellyn." Luana said, blushing.

We both intertwined our hands together and I started to drift off to sleep. When I woke up, I looked at my Styler and saw that it was 5:42 A.M., I was a bit confused as to why I woke up at this time and I decided to go to the bathroom. After I finished doing my business and washing my hands, I felt some of the hairs on the back of my head stand up, just like the nightmare I had previously. After I headed out of the bathroom, I fearfully looked over to the loveseat and saw the silhouette of a woman and I could tell even from a distance, she was almost identical to Luana.

I looked over to the bed and saw Luana peacefully sleeping, I decided to try running over to where Luana was and attempt to get her awake. As I was about to reach Luana, the woman sprinted over to where I was and just as she was about to reach me, I woke up in a cold sweat.

I looked over to the loveseat and saw no one was there, when I looked at Luana, I saw how terrified she looked as she started to tremble. I had to shake her awake, especially because she woke me up when I had the nightmare.

"Luana…Luana, please…wake up! Wake up!" I said, tears forming in my eyes.

Luana slowly woke up, she looked even more scared than me and as she looked around the room, I could see fear in her eyes.

"Luana…you were having a horrible nightmare, was it like the last one? Tell me about it, I'm here for you." I said, giving Luana a hug as I started to cry.

"Thank you Kellyn, I can always count on you. After I went to the bathroom and finished washing my hands, I felt some of the hairs on the back of my head stand up. After I headed out of the bathroom, I looked over to the loveseat and saw the silhouette of a man and just like before, he looked so much like you. I saw you asleep on the bed and just like in the other nightmare, I tried to wake you up, but he got up from the loveseat and just ran at me, right before he reached me, I woke up from you shaking and pleading with me to wake up. I was so scared until you hugged me." Luana said as she started to sob.

Seeing her cry was something that broke my heart, so I hugged Luana closer to me as I started to cry with her. Eventually, we both stopped crying, Luana and I didn't feel like going back to bed, especially because of how similar our nightmares were, but we decided if any missions were going to take place tomorrow, it would be best for us to rest. As Luana started to doze off, I couldn't help but notice how peaceful she looked compared to that nightmare she had earlier, the fact that our nightmares were almost identical is something that confused me as well, maybe Sven or Wendy might know something about nightmares. I decided sleeping would be a good option, so I laid my head on the pillow as I started to drift off to sleep.

In the morning, I woke up feeling relaxed compared to when I had that nightmare. I looked over to Luana and saw she was still asleep, I figured I would get ready so we wouldn't be late and I took out Luana's Ranger uniform while I changed into mine. When I finished changing and put away my pajamas, Luana started to wake up.

"Good morning Luana! How are you? Do you still feel shaken up from that nightmare?" I said as I walked over to her and put my hand on her shoulder, concern prevalent in my voice even as Luana held my hand with hers.

"Good morning Kellyn, I feel much better compared to when I had that nightmare. I'm glad I have you." Luana said, giving me a kiss on the lips.

"W-well I'm glad you're feeling good now, when you're ready to go, we'll meet up with Sven and Wendy!" I said, blushing from the kiss she gave me as I kissed her back.

"Alright, it won't take me too long to get ready!" Luana said as she ran into the bathroom with her Ranger uniform. As I checked my Styler, I saw that it was 7:09 A.M. and since we had a few minutes until we had to go, I decided to quickly go over to Sven and Wendy's room as I squeaked their Eevee toy. After waiting a few minutes, there was no response, so I turned back to go into our room and entered.

As I entered, I saw that Luana was fixing her hair and making sure she had her Styler before putting it in her uniform.

"Hi Luana! You don't need to fix your hair, it looks great just the way it is! Are you ready to go?" I said.

"Hi Kellyn, thank you for saying my hair looks good, I always want to look good for you. I'm ready to go when you are!" Luana said, smiling.

As I took Luana's hand, we headed out of the room, since Sven and Wendy didn't appear to be up yet, I squeaked their Eevee toy again and after a few seconds, they both came out.

"Hi Kellyn, hello Luana, good morning! Sorry we took so long, Sven couldn't find his Styler so I had to call it a few times. Just like I figured, it was in the refrigerator!" Wendy said, giggling as Sven started to laugh.

Luana and I looked at each other and then back at the laughing duo. With how much Wendy and Sven were laughing, we couldn't help joining them as we started to laugh ourselves. Afterwards, we decided to get our breakfast early so we went to the cafeteria.

Before we got our food, we all decided to sit down as I started telling Sven and Wendy about the nightmares that Luana and I have been having.

"Sven and Wendy, for at least two nights, Luana and I have been having some horrible nightmares, do you mind if I tell you guys about them?" I said.

Sven and Wendy looked at each other and then nodded.

"Okay, these nightmares…each time these nightmares occur, they're always very strange and scary. They involve either Luana or me going to the bathroom and feeling our hairs stand up and after we leave the bathroom, we see someone sitting on a loveseat in the corner of the room and they don't move until we try waking the other person up. The scary thing is that the person on the loveseat is almost identical to the person sleeping on the bed and then they start running towards us, the dream always ends before they get to Luana or me but it's something that's really terrifying." I said as I started to tremble until Luana put her hand on mine.

"Hmm, the only thing I can think of is if a Pokémon is somehow scaring you guys, such as a Gengar or a Gastly, but they're only around abandoned areas." Wendy said, concerned.

"Maybe it's one of those two! I don't think they're only in abandoned areas though, but they usually like to scare people, so I would say it's a Gengar." Sven said.

"If it really is a Ghost Pokémon, I wonder if anyone else has been having nightmares because of it. Have you guys had any nightmares recently?" Luana said.

"No, neither Wendy or I have had any nightmares at all. I can ask some Rangers around the Union if they've had any nightmares themselves." Sven said.

"Thanks guys, we appreciate it, let's try getting some breakfast before we run late." I said.

We all got pancakes, syrup and Miltank milk, with Luana and I taking ten pancakes each and Wendy and Sven having only three. Sven and Wendy's faces looked absolutely hilarious every time we got food to eat with them, their eyes seemed to get wider each time they saw how much food we ate.

"You and Luana had seven or eight pancakes last time, now you guys are having ten pancakes with milk?!" Wendy said, her jaw looking like it would hit the floor.

"Seeing how the both of them eat, I'm surprised they didn't get any food at the buffet last night!" Sven said.

"While we do love to eat, the way we kissed at the dance was amazing." I said, feeling my face get hot.

"I'm glad you two enjoyed yourselves and finished the dance with giving each other a kiss, as for Wendy and I, she was really nervous during the whole dance but I eventually helped her relax by giving her a kiss myself." Sven said as he blushed.

"Y-yeah, it was such an amazing kiss too, it felt like my heart started to dance." Wendy said, blushing.

"You two kissed?! Congratulations! I'm glad you two had fun!" Luana said, smiling.

"I agree, with how much you two love to laugh, it'll never get boring around the Ranger Union!" I said.

Since we finished our breakfast, we decided to head to the fourth floor where Chairperson Erma always is. As we reached the fourth floor, we saw the amazing Tree of Harmony with Chairperson Erma sitting right by it.

"Hello dearies, good morning! Did you all have fun at the dance last night?" Chairperson Erma said with a smile.

"Good morning Chairperson Erma, we all did!" We all said happily.

"I'm happy to hear that, I heard the four of you were really great at dancing and that Kellyn and Luana kissed, followed by Wendy and Sven, that must have been a wonderful moment for the four of you. Murph was giddy when he saw how happy you all looked, so he told me just before I went to bed, it reminds me of when I was young!" Chairperson Erma said.

"It certainly was a wonderful moment!" I said while Luana wrapped her arm around me.

"We had a great time! We loved dancing with each other!" Wendy said as Sven hugged her.

"I'm glad you all enjoyed yourselves, seeing how close you all are with one another makes me happy I have such wonderful Top Rangers. There's something the Ranger Union has been studying for a while now, Sven, do you remember that black stone that you found near the Chroma Ruins? One of our researchers, Vatona, thinks that it might be a piece of a Shadow Crystal. I have a mission that requires two of you to travel to the Boyleland while the other pair will go to Shiver Camp to talk with Murph's Father, Pamurph, and then head to Almia Castle. Both of these areas are said to have gems that are said to absorb the darkness of the Shadow Crystals. Which pair will go to Boyleland?" Chairperson Erma said.

"We'll go to Boyleland, Wendy and I need to head to there from Pueltown. Is that okay with you, Kellyn and Luana?" Sven said.

"Yes, that's fine, we haven't been to Shiver Camp yet, we'll have to get jackets or coats to stay warm." I said.

"Don't worry about buying the jackets dearie, the Ranger Union has some very comfortable ones in the Operator's Room." Chairperson Erma said.

"Thanks Chairperson Erma, that helps us out a lot! Let me go get them!" Luana said as she ran down the escalator and promptly came back up with two jackets.

"Wow, that was fast! Wendy and I will be headed to Boyleland, hope you guys enjoy Shiver Camp!" Sven said as he and Wendy went to the escalator and waved.

We waved back and promptly put on the jackets as Chairperson Erma smiled.

"Those jackets will keep you two nice and warm, in order to get to Shiver Camp, you first have to head south of the Ranger Union until you find a small pier, then you must capture a Floatzel and ride it all the way into Crysta Cave. After you reach inside Crysta Cave, there will be a short jog until you reach the exit and then you'll both be in Hia Valley, Shiver Camp is only a short distance away from there! Best of luck dearies!" Chairperson Erma said.

"Thank you Chairperson Erma, we'll let you know of anything we find out any information about the gem!" Luana said as we both waved to Chairperson Erma and headed out of the Ranger Union.

"So there are Floatzel south of the Ranger Union, perfect! Once we find one, they're just what we need to head to Crysta Cave!" I said as we started to walk from the Ranger Union towards the river.

"That's right, I wonder what sort of Pokémon will in Crysta Cave, hopefully not too maybe Zubats or Golbats!" Luana said.

"Don't worry, I'll keep you safe! Also, Luana, since we'll be going on a mission, we should catch a Staraptor, I'll go ahead and capture one and after we do that, let's head to the Ranger base in Vientown and get our Partner Pokémon!" I said as Luana smiled.

I quickly found a Staraptor and started to make loops around it, dodging its whirlwinds with ease, I was able to capture it quickly.

"Yes! I caught it, now time to go to Vientown!" I said as Luana and I hopped on the Staraptor and flew to Vientown, reaching there in no time.

"Thanks Staraptor, please stay here with for a bit while we head inside." I said to the Staraptor as it nodded and we went inside.

As Luana and I headed inside the Ranger base, we noticed Barlow, Elaine and Ollie were examining a Miniremo. When the door closed, Barlow turned around and when he saw us, he gave both of us a hug.

"Kellyn! Luana! How are the two of you? I heard about your kiss, Murph told all the Rangers about it!" Barlow said, smiling.

"Hi Barlow, we're doing good, it's great to see you! Murph told all the Rangers about our kiss? It was pretty special!" I said, starry-eyed.

"Hello Barlow, nice to see you, we're doing good! I know that Kellyn and I thought our kiss was special, but Murph must have thought it was something to tell all the Rangers about it! We came to pick up our Partner Pokémon and see how everyone is doing!" Luana said as she smiled at me.

"Your Buneary and Kellyn's Pachirisu are doing great, they get along very well, just like their Ranger partners! Everyone is doing good, Elaine, Ollie and I were just looking at this Miniremo that someone found on Nabiki beach, while Crawford is telling jokes to Big Bertha's Miltank." Barlow said.

"Hahah, Crawford loves jokes, maybe he'll bring back some milk pudding once he's done. Someone found a Miniremo? That's odd, maybe it came from the cargo ship?" I said as Luana went over to look at it.

"Yeah, this Miniremo could be from the cargo ship, it was easy for Elaine and Ollie to break open compared to that Gigaremo. The Miniremo has a shiny black shard in it, just like the Gigaremo. I figure this could be something important, do you guys want to take it?" Barlow said.

"Can I hit the shards with a hammer before Kellyn or Luana takes them?" Elaine said as Ollie chuckled.

"No no, we need them to not get destroyed, Elaine!" Barlow said.

"Fine…I just love taking things apart…wait…Kellyn?! Luana?! I missed you guys!" Elaine said as she and Ollie turned around and hugged us.

"Hello Elaine, hi Ollie, it's great to see you guys! How have the two of you been?" Luana and I asked as Ollie hugged me while Elaine hugged Luana.

"Hi guys! We've been fixing up the Ranger base with some additional lights and helping any Vientown citizens with mechanical issues. Ollie is a really great helper!" Elaine said, a slight blush on her face as she and Ollie let go of their embrace.

"It's good to see you found romance too, Elaine! You and Ollie are so similar!" Luana said with a smile.

"Ollie's good at taking things apart just like me, I'm glad I'm with him." Elaine said.

"That's good, Luana's right, the two of you are great for each other!" I said.

"Just like with you guys, they're never really apart. I find that to be special." Barlow said as we all smiled over him getting emotional.

"That's adorable! Speaking of two partners who are never really apart, where are Pachirisu and Buneary? Are they taking naps now?" Luana said.

"I think they are, the two of them have been training hard since you two left. They sleep in your beds so I'll go ahead and see if they're awake." Barlow said as he went into the sleeping quarters.

Barlow came out a few seconds later with both of our Partner Pokémon jumping up and down behind him. Both of them were ecstatic to see us and jumped into our arms as we hugged them back.

"Buneary, it's great to see you, you're still as wonderful as ever!" Luana said as Buneary hugged her.

"Pachirisu! I'm happy to see you, you look like you've been good." I said as Pachirisu also gave me a cheerful hug.

"Now that you guys are with your Partner Pokémon, let me go ahead and give you guys those black shards." Elaine said as she removed the shards from the Gigaremo and Miniremo.

Ollie came with a small bag to put them in since we didn't have any on us, we put the black shards inside the bag and tied it up so it was secure.

"There you go guys, maybe the Ranger Union might know what those black shards are. We don't have any idea what it could be but we do know that the fact that it's controlling Pokémon means it's related with Team Dim Sun. They'll continue to try controlling all the Pokémon in Almia, no matter what." Ollie said.


	11. Chapter 11: Crysta Cave and Pamurph

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, Pokemon Ranger, or the characters in this story.**

Chapter 11: Crysta Cave and Pamurph

"Thank you Ollie, we'll have to head back to the Ranger Union to drop these shards off and then go over to Shiver Camp since there might be a gem there that can make these black shards, which are called Shadow Crystals, to become weak once their darkness is absorbed." I said.

"Wow, that's amazing! I hope you guys find that gem! Goodbye, Kellyn and Luana, have fun in Shiver Camp!" Ollie said.

"Goodbye guys, it was nice to see you two!" Elaine said.

"Bye guys, I'm glad you two paid us a visit, Crysta Cave is extremely cold from what I heard, so I'm glad you two have those thick jackets!" Barlow said with a smile.

"Goodbye everyone, it was great to see you all! Luana and I will try coming back once the mission is over!" I said as Luana and I waved goodbye to everyone while our Partner Pokémon hopped on our shoulders as we headed outside, we saw the Staraptor was patiently waiting for us.

"Thank you for your patience Staraptor, we both appreciate it." I said as Staraptor nodded.

I climbed up on Staraptor first and helped Luana up along with making sure our Partner Pokémon were safe.

"Okay Staraptor, when you're ready, let's head to the Ranger Union!" I said to Staraptor as it flew towards the Ranger Union, we were there within no time as we all got off the Staraptor.

"Thank you Staraptor, you've been a great help!" Luana said as we all waved to Staraptor, shortly afterwards, it nodded and flew off.

Luana and I headed into the Ranger Union and found Chairperson Erma talking with the receptionist.

"Excuse me Chairperson Erma, we're very sorry to disturb you, but we received these small Shadow Crystals from some Team Dim Sun machines that were being studied at the Ranger base. We decided to hand them over to you before we headed to Shiver Camp. We wouldn't have been able to get them if it wasn't for everyone at the Ranger base!" I said as I handed Chairperson Erma the small bag.

"That's no problem at all dearies. Thank you very much, I'll give the Vientown Ranger base my thanks! I'll have Vatona and Nage examine these shards right away. Enjoy Shiver Camp!" Chairperson Erma said as we waved and headed outside of the Ranger Union.

After we exited the Ranger Union, Luana and I walked down to the pier and decided that since we had our partner Pokémon, we were ready to capture a Floatzel when we noticed one come out of the river.

"Perfect, there's a Floatzel! Do you want to catch it?" I said.

"I do! I've never caught a Floatzel before so I have to study its attacks first and then take my time to capture it!" Luana said as she smiled at me.**  
**Luana started doing loops around the Floatzel and after avoiding its bubblebeams for a short while, she was able to capture it. The Floatzel then went back into the river while it waited for us.

"Capture complete." Luana said as she winked at me, making me blush as we all got on the Floatzel.

"Okay Floatzel, please take us to Crysta Cave!" I said as the Floatzel started to swim in the river, I could feel water splashing around me while Luana got close to me in case she fell off.

After a few minutes, Luana and I could see the entrance to Crysta Cave as it was marked on our Stylers. When we entered the cave itself, it was a drastic drop in temperature, thankfully we had the jackets on as we got closer to a small pier while there was another one in the distance.

"Thanks Floatzel, please wait here for a bit." I said as we all got off the Floatzel.

We looked around the small area and saw a Jigglypuff floating around, we've caught every Pokémon we've encountered so far, but we weren't able to get a Jigglypuff!

"Luana, you know how when you or I catch a Pokémon it shows up on our Styler information? We should catch that Jigglypuff! Would you like to catch it? It looks so happy floating around!" I said as the Jigglypuff continued to float around us.

"I'd love to capture a Jigglypuff!" Luana said as she started making loops around the floating Pokémon, its only attack was when it landed and made small notes appear with Hyper voice. After a few quick loops, Jigglypuff was captured and added to our Pokémon caught as we released it shortly afterwards.

"Bye Jigglypuff! See you soon!" We said as we waved to the Jigglypuff as it waved back.

Luana and I headed back to the Floatzel and climbed on it as we decided to go to the other pier that was farther away. After we jumped on the pier, we released the Floatzel.

"Thanks for the help Floatzel, goodbye!" I said to the Floatzel as it waved and slowly swam away.

Luana and I started to walk a bit deeper into the cave, this small area had lots of ledges and steps which were rather helpful. We also saw quite a few Pokémon that we haven't caught before such as Sealeo, Jynx and Swinub. I went to get the Sealeo and Luana ran over to the Jynx.

The Sealeo started to use ice beam as I started making loops around it, but eventually, it got tired which allowed me to capture it. As I looked over at Luana, I saw that the Jynx was using musical notes and using ice beam while Luana was making loops, however, she used her Buneary to give her Styler more power and she was able to capture the Jynx.

"Great work Buneary, thanks for the help!" Luana said as Buneary jumped up and down happily.  
"Nice job Buneary, that capture was pretty good, Luana!" I said as Pachirisu hopped up and down in agreement.

"Thank you Kellyn, we should capture that Swinub too, then we'll release these Pokémon!" Luana said.

"I agree, I heard Swinub love to tackle so make sure to sneak up on it." I said as Luana and I got closer to the Swinub that was near the back of the first section of the cave. As we got closer to it, Luana and I could feel cold air coming from the back of the cave.

"Luana, keep Buneary safe, we're most likely getting close to Hia Valley. Pachirisu, stay in my jacket, you'll feel warmer than being on my shoulder." I said as Buneary and Pachirisu went inside our jackets to get warm.

"Thanks Kellyn, I'm surprised by how small this cave is, though that's a good thing. You can catch that Swinub if you want." Luana said, smiling.

I smiled back as I walked over to the Swinub and started making loops around it, it started to use ice beam and tackles in order to break the capture line. However, I was able to capture it quickly and after our Stylers updated the details of the Pokémon we caught, we released them and headed into the cave.

When Luana and I went into the next area, we saw an old bridge that looked like it would break if both of us got on it at the same time.

"This bridge probably hasn't been worked on for a while, I'll go first Kellyn." Luana said as she tested the bridge with one of her feet, the bridge held firm despite how damaged it was. Luana walked across the bridge and eventually made it over to where the cave's exit was.

"Come on Kellyn, don't be afraid!" Luana said as I started to walk across the bridge.

I felt colder and colder, even with the jacket on and I began to tremble violently. I saw Luana and noticed that she was shivering, I continued to walk across the bridge and trembled horribly.

"P-pachi-r-risu, go over t-to where L-Luana is." I said as I started to walk slower and slower. Pachirisu didn't want to come out of the jacket, so I had to gently remove him from the jacket as I continued to tremble more and more.

"Pachi-r-risu, this c-cold started t-to get m-more unbearable, i-if I were to collapse on t-this bridge, y-you would get i-injured. P-please go o-over to L-Luana." I said as Pachirisu looked sadly at me, but he shook his head as he went over to Luana while she looked at me, concerned.

"K-Kellyn, try making it across, y-you can do it!" Luana said as she started to shiver a bit more.

I slowly started to continue walking across the bridge and with Luana cheering me on, I was able make it across, afterwards, I didn't feel as cold as when I was on the bridge itself.

"I told you that you can do it! You're not trembling anymore, which is good, you really had me worried. When we reach Shiver Camp, we'll have to ask Pamurph for soup or a blanket and see if we could take a quick rest." Luana said.

"Thank you Luana, the trembling stopped which is something that I thought was strange. I think it's the work of Team Dim Sun, let's head out of this cave and head to Shiver Camp!" I said as Pachirisu hopped into the jacket.

When we exited the cave, we saw some Swinub and a Piloswine, we slowly approached the Pokémon and I captured the Piloswine after avoiding its ice beam and multiple tackles, with Luana and our Partner Pokémon cheering me on. After I caught the Piloswine, I released it as it went with the Swinub to a small cave nearby. When the Pokémon left, we heard someone laughing, Luana and I turned around to find a Team Dim Sun admin by the Crysta Cave opening, laughing as he held a Miniremo.

"Hahah, I knew Rangers would try to come to Shiver Camp, so I had some Pokémon on a couple of ledges blow some cold air on that foolish Ranger. I was hoping he would be frozen solid but it didn't work." The Team Dim Sun admin said, continuing to chuckle while he started typing for a Pokémon to come and attack us.

After a few moments, we heard the roars of two Mamoswine. The Pokémon were quite formidable as we started making loops around them, with them using ice beam and causing small tremors in order to damage our Capture lines. After having Pachirisu paralyze both of them, we continued to make loops around them and successfully captured them, enraging the Team Dim Sun admin as his Miniremo malfunctioned.

"Hmph, you managed to capture my Mamoswine, time to leave!" The Team Dim Sun admin said as he ran into Crysta Cave.

"Thanks for the help Pachirisu! Nice work Luana, you did an amazing job!" I said as I gave Luana a kiss.

"T-thanks K-Kellyn, you did really great yourself. Good work Pachirisu!" Luana said, blushing as she gave me and Pachirisu a hug.

"Thanks to our teamwork, we were able to catch two Mamoswine! We're about to reach Shiver Camp, let's go see Pamurph!" I said, smiling as Luana and I jogged a short distance from Crysta Cave to Shiver Camp.

As we entered Shiver Camp itself, it was just as expected, a small and relaxing place where the houses looked like igloos. As we looked around, we couldn't help but wonder which house was Pamurph's, since we saw a Ranger Depot at the edge of the small camp, we decided to head inside and ask the Operator where Pamurph's house is.

"Hello there Rangers, welcome to Shiver Camp's Ranger Depot! Do you need a Styler recharge?" The Operator said.

"Hi, our Stylers don't need a recharge, we were wondering if you know where Pamurph's house is?" Luana and I said simultaneously.

"Ah yes, Pamurph's house is in the center of the camp! You two are on a mission, right? Stay safe!" The Operator said as she waved to us.

"Thank you, we will!" We said as we waved back and exited the Ranger Depot.

Luana and I walked over to Pamurph's house and right when we were about to see if anyone was home, the door opened, the man looked almost identical to Murph except looking a bit older.

"Kellyn, Luana! It's nice to meet the two of you. My son, Murph talks highly about the two of you, he says that you're both amazing Top Rangers! You two must be cold, please come in!" Pamurph said as we both entered his house.

The interior of the house was simple yet elegant, on the left-hand side, there was a stove and a small cooler by the back wall and a sink next to it, with a small kitchen area for preparing food. There was also a door leading to a bathroom on the right-hand side and a heater in the corner and in the center of the room was a large table with 4 chairs.

"Thank you for inviting us into your place, it's very cozy. One of our friends, Sven, found a black shard that is believed to have come from a Shadow Crystal and we were told that a gem can actually absorb the darkness of that black shard." Luana said as Pachirisu and Buneary both got out and sat together by the table while Luana and I both sat down on the chairs as Pamurph took a seat as well.

"Thank you Pamurph, your home is very nice. We were informed this gem could be found in Almia Castle, while another gem was in Boyle Volcano. How could we get to Almia Castle or the gem?" I said, wondering how to travel in this weather. We certainly couldn't fly there as we haven't been to Almia Castle and the harsh winds would hurt the Staraptor.

"You're welcome, I'll prepare some hot soup for the both of you while I tell you the story of the Blue Gem and how to get to it." Pamurph said as he went over to the cooler and took out some vegetables and broth and started to chop up some vegetables. After he finished, he let them simmer on the stove while he came back to the table and told us about the Blue Gem.

"Long ago, there lived three sons and a king, they all lived in Almia Castle before it became abandoned and derelict. The three sons each wanted to become the new king and take over the throne but two of them were selfish and vicious, the king sent one of his sons to Boyle Volcano, while he sent the other one to a place near the Haruba Desert, called the Hippowdon Ruins. The third son lived with the king as he got older and older and each of the sons had their gems put in a secure location guarded by a Pokémon. The Blue Gem is in Almia Castle, though I'm not too sure where, I do know that recently, some of our Pokémon researchers said the entrance has large chunks of ice covering it. I also know you two will need an Empoleon to cross the lake and there are whirlpools and ice caps scattered around the lake as well. That's all I know of the Blue Gem, I apologize I couldn't be of more help." Pamurph said.

"Pamurph, you've helped us out a lot, now we know where to find the Blue Gem!" Luana said excitedly.

"Exactly, plus, now we know how to cross the ice lake. We'll have to find a Pokémon that can deal with those chunks of ice." I said.

"Hmm, I think a Ninetales would be able to melt that ice easily, I heard that there's a Ninetales in Hia Valley that lives by itself. You guys should go and capture it, that Ninetales is very friendly and has helped us out by clearing ice covering the entrance before. Ah, the soup is finished!" Pamurph said as he went over to get five bowls of soup and three spoons and put them on a tray.

"Thank you Pamurph, we need our energy, this soup looks great!" I said as I ate the soup.

"Thanks Pamurph, this soup will definitely warm us up!" Luana said as she started eating.

"Good, I hope your Partner Pokémon enjoy the soup as much as you guys do!" Pamurph said happily.

Within no time, Luana and I finished our soup while Pachirisu, Buneary and Pamurph weren't even halfway done. Once our Partner Pokémon and Pamurph saw that we were finished with our food already, their eyes grew wide.

"Wow, the both of you ate faster than Murph! Do you two want more soup? I made more than enough!" Pamurph said.

"No, we're fine, that soup was delicious, but thanks for asking!" I said.

"We're full, thank you Pamurph, that soup was really good." Luana said.

"You're welcome, when you two come back with the Blue Gem, come back for some more soup before you guys start heading back to the Ranger Union." Pamurph said as he waved.

"Bye Pamurph, we'll be more than happy to come back for some soup once we get that Blue Gem!" I said as Luana and I waved while we exited Pamurph's home with our Partner Pokémon in our jackets.

Luana and I headed out of Shiver Camp and started looking around for the Ninetales' den, as we were walking around, we noticed a Piloswine that was near a small den, Luana decided to capture the Piloswine and after dodging its ice beams, it was captured. After Luana captured the Piloswine, a Ninetales emerged from the den.

"Look Kellyn, that's the Ninetales that Pamurph was talking about! Even though Pamurph says it's friendly, I don't want to startle it. Let's approach it slowly." Luana said as I smiled at her and nodded.

We both decided to slowly walk up to the Ninetales and as we walked forward, so did the Ninetales, yet when we didn't walk forward, it didn't move at all. This Ninetales seemed like it was copying us. Luana and I noticed that the Ninetales was smiling as it walked up to us and sat down.

"Ninetales, do you want me to capture you?" I said.

The Ninetales nodded as it sat still, I immediately started making loops around Ninetales and I was able to quickly capture it.

"Capture complete!" I said enthusiastically as the Ninetales started jumping up and down with joy.

"Now that we've got a Ninetales and a Piloswine as our Friend Pokémon, it's time to head to the Ice Lake!" Luana said as we continued walking in Hia Valley.


	12. Chapter 12: Almia Castle

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, Pokemon Ranger, or the characters in this story.**

Chapter 12: Almia Castle

We eventually noticed a small log cabin and noticed no one was home. As we were walking around Hia Valley, we saw an elderly lady giving a Delibird some Pokémon food.

"There you go Delibird, some delicious Pokémon food for you, I know it's hard for you to scavenge for food so I hope this helps, I'll be heading home now, you can come visit if you'd like." The elderly woman said as Delibird hugged her goodbye. The elderly lady hugged the Delibird back with Delibird finishing off the Pokémon food as it wandered into a small area with trees, after a brief moment, she turned and saw us.

"Ah, hello! I'm sorry if I was in the way, are you two Top Rangers by any chance?" The woman said.

"Hello ma'am, no need to apologize! We actually are Top Rangers, my name's Kellyn and this is my partner Luana." I said, smiling.

"Nice to meet you Kellyn and Luana, my name is Mrs. Winter. I heard about the great work the both of you did on the cargo ship! Pamurph told me to tell the both of you some information I know about the Yellow Gem, since it's cold out here, let's head into my place." Mrs. Winter said as we all went inside the cozy log cabin.

As we entered, I noticed a small stove in one corner and a heater in the other, there was also a door on the left hand side which lead to a bathroom. There was a large table by the window on the right hand side with three chairs, Luana and I sat near each other while our friend Pokémon and Partner Pokémon sat by the table and Mrs. Winter went by the window.

"I've just finished making some sandwiches, would you two like some? Would your Pokémon want some food as well? I figured all of you should get some food since Almia Castle is treacherous." Mrs. Winter said.

"Thank you Mrs. Winter, Luana and I actually had some soup from Pamurph recently so you don't have to give us food. If you could possibly give our Pokémon some food, that would be great!" I said.

"Kellyn, you and Luana need your energy, I'll prepare sandwiches for the both of you. I don't mind, I love making food for the researchers in Shiver Camp." Mrs. Winter said she brought Pokémon food for Pachirisu, Buneary, Ninetales and Piloswine as they happily ate. Mrs. Winter then came back with three giant sandwiches piled high with lettuce, Miltank cheese and Oran berries and three glasses of water.

"Thank you Mrs. Winter, we'll eat what we can!" Luana and I said as we took our sandwiches.

"You're welcome, the two of you are welcome to have more food if you'd like! Here's what I know about the Yellow Gem, the Yellow Gem is in Hippowdon Ruins as Pamurph told the both of you, however, the Hippowdon Ruins is said to be a dangerous place, just like Almia Castle. The Hippowdon Ruins has mazes and areas where sand can be launched at you, the actual guardian of the Yellow Gem is a Cresselia though I don't know what sort of attacks it has. The Pokémon that are there are dangerous as well, most of them will chase the two of you or try to attack." Mrs. Winter said.

As Mrs. Winter finished talking about the Yellow Gem, Luana and I finished our sandwiches and drank the water.

"Thank you for helping us, Mrs. Winter. Kellyn and I will be prepared for Hippowdon Ruins!" Luana said with a grin.

"That's right! Thank you Mrs. Winter, Hippowdon Ruins sounds like it'll be a challenge to get through, but that's why we're Top Rangers!" I said, smiling at Luana.

"You two have quite the appetite, that's good! Would you two like more sandwiches?" Mrs. Winter said.

"Thank you Mrs. Winter, we're full, those sandwiches were great. We'll be on our way to Almia Castle!" I said.

"Thanks Mrs. Winter, Kellyn and I appreciate your hospitality." Luana said as we both waved to Mrs. Winter while our Pokémon headed out of her log cabin while Mrs. Winter waved back happily. Luana and I turned and left the log cabin and then called the Ranger Union when we went inside the Shiver Camp Ranger Depot, since we already saw Team Dim Sun in Hia Valley, we figured that Shiver Camp would be a little more safe. As we were warming up inside the Depot, my Styler started to ring.

"Hello Kellyn and Luana, this is Marcus, I'm your temporary Top Operator. The both of you are headed through Hia Valley, did either of you find out any information about the Blue Gem?" Marcus said.

"Hello Marcus, it's nice to meet you! We found out information about the Blue Gem, it's in Almia Castle and it's said to be guarded by a powerful Pokémon. While Luana and I don't know what Pokémon it is, we're going to prepare and bring along any Pokémon that can help us. We're going to go to the Ice Lake and capture an Empoleon since there are tons of ice caps and whirlpools." I said.

"You two will do well, speaking of the Ice Lake, people have seen something that appears to be a large pile of snow near Almia Castle. It looks quite a lot like an Abomasnow and since you two are completing the Styler information faster than all the other Rangers, maybe you two should check it out, perhaps it is an Abomasnow. Have you two found any information about the other two gems?" Marcus said.

"Thanks Marcus, we'll check out where that possible Abomasnow could be. We actually did find out some information about the Yellow Gem, it's located in Hippowdon Ruins and is being guarded by Cresselia, a legendary Pokémon. Hippowdon Ruins is extremely dangerous according to information from Mrs. Winter and the Pokémon there will chase us down if they notice us, there are also many different parts in the Ruins where sand can be launched at us." Luana said as she put her arm around me.

"Let's see, the Pokémon in Hippowdon Ruins are dangerous, there are several dangerous areas in the Ruins and sand can be tossed at you two. Finally, the Yellow Gem is being guarded by a…by a Cresselia?! I'll make sure to inform Chairperson Erma about that detail especially! Thank you Kellyn and Luana, you're both doing great. I'll check on you guys once you reach Almia Castle, bye!" Marcus said.

"Bye Marcus!" Luana and I said as we hanged up my Styler and we left the Ranger Depot and waved to the Operator, who waved back.

Luana and I left Shiver Camp and we continued walking through Hia Valley. Eventually, we reached the Ice Lake and noticed a researcher and two Empoleon being cornered by a Team Dim Sun grunt. Enraged, Luana and I ran up to the grunt as he was trying to command a Pokémon and he turned around, surprised.

"Rangers?! Why are you two here? It's time to use this Miniremo!" The grunt said.

"Rangers, please help, this fool wants to steal the Empoleon!" The researcher said, as we heard a roar.

Luana and I knew the roar came from an Aggron as it started to launch rocks at us. However, because of the heavy snow, the Aggron was struggling to move, let alone toss rocks. Luana went in between the researcher and the grunt so he wouldn't try attacking the researcher or the Empoleon. In no time, I started making loops around the Aggron and I captured it, once it was captured, the Miniremo malfunctioned and the Aggron went back to its natural habitat.

"Tch, these Rangers are too tough, I'm leaving!" The Team Dim Sun grunt said as he quickly left.

Afterwards, the researcher and Empoleon came up to us, happy that we were able to help them.

"Thank you so much, are you two Kellyn and Luana?" The researcher said.

"You're welcome, it's what Rangers do, we are Kellyn and Luana, did Pamurph tell you about us?" I said.

"That's right, he did! Are you two on your way to find the Blue Gem?" The researcher said.

"We are! Since we'll need two Empoleon to cross the Ice Lake, can we borrow these Empoleon to help us?" Luana said

"Of course! This Empoleon is very eager to help you two out, especially since you both helped us out from that grunt." The researcher said.

The Empoleon started jumping around and went to the small pier, both of them jumping in the icy waters, the Ninetales and the Piloswine both went on the back of one of the Empoleon.

"Thank you for your help, Empoleon. Can you please take our friend Pokémon to Almia Castle if it's not any trouble?" I said as Empoleon nodded and started to swim towards Almia Castle.  
Luana and I then went on the other Empoleon and we waved to the researcher as he waved back to us, after making sure he left the area safely, we were ready to head to Almia Castle.

After a few minutes of dodging whirlpools and breaking through ice caps at fast speeds thanks to the currents surrounding the Ice Lake, Luana and I reached at Almia Castle. Luana and I got off the Empoleon and saw the chunk of ice that Pamurph was talking about, as we went more closer to Almia Castle, I looked up at it, the castle was very foreboding. Luana and I started to look around for the other Empoleon and as we were walking around the area, we saw a few Pokémon around here, such as a Staraptor and a Glaceon. After walking around for a little bit, we noticed the second Empoleon swimming up to where Luana and I were as our Friend Pokémon got off the Empoleon's back.

"Now that we're at Almia Castle, it's time to get through this thick ice!" Luana said.

Almost immediately, the Ninetales jumped over to the ice chunks and used a powerful Flamethrower to melt them. Afterwards, Ninetales walked over to the Empoleon and waited by the pier while in the meantime, Luana and I were looking out for that Abomasnow when we noticed a small ledge.

Luana and I were able to climb up it and noticed that there was something that looked like a pile of snow with what appeared to be leaves sticking out of it. The Piloswine came up to us and we had it use Tackle on the Abomasnow, it was startled and walked around briefly, wondering why it had suddenly woken up. Upon noticing us, the Abomasnow used Blizzard and surrounded the area with even more snow, however, it didn't bother Luana or myself since we had the thick jackets on. After avoiding its Blizzard and its leaf shield, I was able to capture it. When I confirmed that the Abomasnow was captured, I released it and the Piloswine and Ninetales, Luana and I jumped down the small ledge and saw as the Empoleon had the Ninetales on its back, while the other had Piloswine on its back, with Piloswine resting comfortably.

"Thank you Ninetales, Piloswine and Empoleon, you all helped us out so much!" I said.

The Ninetales smiled and waved to us while Empoleon did the same as they turned and slowly swam back together.

"Stay safe, we appreciate your help, thank you!" Luana and I said as we waved back to the Empoleon while they got further away.

"Let's get ready, we're about to go inside Almia Castle and the Pokémon there might be dangerous like they might be at Hippowdon Ruins." Luana said, determined to do the best she can.

"That's right, we can do this Luana, we're a team and we're together, dangerous Pokémon or not." I said as I gave Luana a hug which made her blush.

Upon entering Almia Castle, we were in a foyer that had some small dressers with flower pots on top. After going through the foyer, Luana and I saw a massive dinner table with several chairs, however, we noticed some Pokémon nearby, two Haunters that immediately vanished when we got near them. Worried that they would try attacking us, Luana and I did our best to try finding them. Thankfully, it didn't take long and the Haunters didn't attack too often, when they did, they would launch purple flames that would chase us around, in no time, they were captured.

"Great work Luana, these Haunters will be helpful for us capturing more Pokémon here!" I said.

"That's right, let's keep looking for more Pokémon, we can also have our Partner Pokémon help us!" Luana said.

Luana and I walked from the dining area to a door threshold at the back of the room, this led us to a small area with a Raichu and a staircase that would lead us to the second floor.

"Luana, before we go upstairs, do you want to go back to the dining area and capture some Pokémon that might be in those rooms we missed?" I said.

"That's a good idea, we might need a Pokémon to help us with any ice or other obstacles that will be in this castle." Luana said as we both went back to the dining area.

"I'll go to the right while you go to the left, let's see what Pokémon might be in these rooms!" I said as Luana smiled and went over to the left room while I jogged over to the right side of the room, wondering what sort of Pokémon we might have to face.

Upon entering, the only Pokémon I saw was a Vulpix and since neither Luana or myself got one yet, I figured I may as well capture one. At first, I was prepared to deal with it possibly using Flamethrower, but when I approached the Vulpix, all it did was summon a weak purple flame that quickly vanished. This poor Vulpix was in pain, I noticed that its breathing was heavy and I decided to pick it up and go over to where Luana was, she had just come out of the room with a Vulpix of her own when she noticed the one I was carrying in my arms.

"Luana, Luana! This Vulpix needs our help, it's in serious condition and its breathing is very strained." I said, concerned over the Vulpix's health.

"Don't worry Kellyn, I know what can help this Vulpix!" Luana said as she took out a Sitrus berry from her jacket and gave it to the Vulpix. The Vulpix felt better right away as it quickly finished the berry and jumped out of my arms and started to run in circles around us.

"Wow, Vulpix immediately got healthier, I'm glad that it's recovered already!" I said.

"I'm happy it's running around so much, we're glad you're okay, Vulpix!" Luana said with a smile as Vulpix stopped running around us and looked up at me, its eyes appearing curious.

"What's wrong Vulpix? Would you like to travel with us?" I said as Vulpix confirmed my answer by jumping up and down. I started to quickly draw loops around Vulpix as it sat down patiently while I was able to quickly capture it.

"Awesome! Now we have more Friend Pokémon!" Luana said happily.

"Yeah, the more Friend Pokémon we have, the more types of assists we can use, let's get that Raichu by the stairs just in case our Stylers take damage. The only Pokémon that was in my room was Vulpix, what about yours?" I said.

"There was only a Vulpix in my room too, I thought there would have been more Pokémon on the first floor. I think getting a Raichu would be a great idea since the Pokémon here could be dangerous." Luana said.

"I know, I thought it was rather odd that the only Pokémon on this floor are the Vulpix, Haunter and one Raichu, I'm fairly certain there will be more Pokémon on the upper floors of the castle. Don't worry Luana, we'll capture a lot of Pokémon, it won't be so bad, I have you as my Partner." I said, smiling at Luana while she blushed.

As we walked back to the room with the staircase, we noticed that the Raichu was still there, it was just walking around and continued to do so even when we slowly approached it. However, as I started to make loops around the Raichu, it used Thunderbolt near the stairs, making me a bit surprised, though it didn't damage the line. After it had to relax a bit from using so much electricity, I was able to capture it without taking any damage. Luana and I went to the second floor and noticed two Team Dim Sun grunts, one male and one female, and a Team Dim Sun admin in the room with two doors, one to their left and one behind them. Surprisingly, they hadn't noticed us yet, maybe they were some of the grunts from the secret harbor.

"Ugh, why are we even in this cold castle? There's nothing here besides a couple of Vulpix!" The male grunt said.

"Yeah, it's so boring here, why did the boss even have us come here?" The female grunt said.

_'__Boss? Who's their boss? Is it Kincaid?' _I thought to myself of wondering who their leader might be.

"Keep it down you two! Our boss has us here to make sure no Rangers get into this castle, that's why all that ice keeps being in front of the castle! If any of us see any Rangers, we have to use those Miniremos, do you guys understand?" The admin said as he and the male grunt went to the room on the left, while the female grunt stayed by the staircase. Shortly afterwards, we heard the admin starting to yell at the male grunt for how much he was goofing off.

Luana and I were trying to slip past the female grunt with our Friend and Partner Pokémon being able to do so successfully, but when Luana and I were by a small table, the female grunt went back downstairs and after a minute or so came back up, spotting us from where she was.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?! This place is off limits!" The grunt said as she ran over to us while she took out a Miniremo and started typing.

Luana and I felt the air get colder than it already was as we saw two Glalie come up the staircase.

"Glalie, make popsicles out of these nosy Rangers!" The grunt said as the two Glalie launched ice beams as us.

Luana and I started to draw loops around them, but one of the Glalie's ice beams hit Luana's line, causing it to take some damage while the Glalie's started to charge up more ice beams.

"Luana, are you okay? How much damage did your Styler take?" I said.

"Don't worry Kellyn, my Styler is fine, it took five damage from one attack, I still have fifty Styler energy left!" Luana said as she and I made loops around the Glalie, with one of their ice beams impacting the doorway which was where the admin and grunt were, effectively making sure that they wouldn't be able to help their friend.

After a few more loops, I caught the Glalie while Luana was able to capture the other one shortly after me. After both Glalie were captured and they went back to their habitat, the grunt's Miniremo malfunctioned.

"Grrrr, thanks Rangers, now I have to go help out my friends." The annoyed grunt said as she went over to the large chunk of ice and started to try digging through the ice. I had an idea that I think Luana would like, so I decided to make a plan.

"Luana, here's the plan, we'll have the Haunter go to where those Team Dim Sun goons are and take their Miniremos, we'll destroy both of the Miniremos and then save them. How's that sound for a plan?" I whispered.

"You're so smart, that's an awesome idea, let's try it out!" Luana said as both Haunters vanished. After a few seconds, we heard two loud screams which made the grunt jump as she tried to dig through the ice. The Haunter quickly came back to us with Miniremos in their hands, which Luana and I quickly destroyed. Afterwards, Luana and I both walked up to the grunt as she still continued trying to get through the ice, upon hearing us, she quickly turned around.

"Y-you two are still here? I-I'm just trying to get my friends out, p-please don't hurt me." The grunt said, her voice shaking as she started backing away from where her friends were trapped while Luana and I went up to it.

"If you two are close to the entrance, step away from it." I said.

Luana and I both looked at each other and smiled as we took out both Vulpix to help with destroying the ice covering the entrance. After a minute of the Vulpix using Flamethrower, the ice melted into nothing and the Vulpix that Luana and I didn't rescue started to go back downstairs.

"Thanks for your help Vulpix!" We said. When Vulpix reached the steps, it turned to us and we waved to it.

After the other Vulpix left, the female grunt started jumping for joy while the admin and the grunt were both able to escape the room, even though they were freezing and crying, they appeared to be doing fine despite how cold it was.

"M-maybe y-you Rangers ar-ren't so bad after all, t-thanks." The grunt said.

"Y-yeah, f-forget the boss, I-I'm out of here, these t-two R-Rangers helped us." The admin said as him and the male grunt both went downstairs, leaving us with the female grunt.

"You two, we're sorry for any trouble Team Dim Sun has caused the Rangers, we just wanted some quick money but we had no idea that we would be told to come to Almia Castle to look for some gem. You two might be able to defeat our boss, his name is Ice, he's part of the Sinis Trio which are more elite than the admins. He's trying to head through the castle now, take my radio, you two can use it. There are quite a few more grunts here, so you two have to be cautious." The grunt said as she handed me her radio with the Team Dim Sun logo on it.

"Thanks, Team Dim Sun has been a lot of trouble, we know that not all of the members are bad though. This radio will come in handy, I'm just wondering how Ice will react if you or the other two don't answer him." I said.

"Oh no need to worry about that, he just goes on rants about the Pokémon and the gem, so we just don't listen to him. and good luck you two!" The grunt said as she went to the staircase and waved to us.

"Thanks for the radio!" We said as we waved back to the grunt as she went downstairs.

"Now that we have a way to listen to their boss, we can go deeper into the castle! We have to find a way to deal with those other grunts though." Luana said.

"Maybe we could find a way to get disguises? It'll be a bit of a challenge but if there are any Team Dim Sun members who are especially hostile, we'll take their uniforms." I said as Luana and I walked into the room that the admin and grunt were in just a few minutes ago, as we entered, we noticed there were no Pokémon or people, so we quickly left.

We went to go back into the area that we encountered the former Team Dim members at and decided to go to the door at the very back of the room since we hadn't explored there yet, upon entering Luana and I found ourselves in a room filled with ice and holes in the floor. There was a doorway that led to another room on the left and nothing to the right or at the back of the room. I carefully went to one of the openings in the floor and saw the same room that had the Raichu, I tried looking at the other openings that were a little bit farther up but all I could see was snow…wait a second…snow?!

"Luana, we have to be careful, one of the holes here leads to that small room where Raichu was, but the other ones…they lead to outside the castle, there's so much damage in the floors that if we were to fall, we would end up dying. I'll go first so if I slip or fall, you would be safe. I know we're partners, but I don't want you to die." I said as our Partner Pokémon and Friend Pokémon looked at me while I became sad.

Luana's face looked a bit surprised at first, but then her face became stern, I've never seen her look this way before and it bothered me quite a bit. I wondered why Luana's expression looked so serious, but then I understood that it's because of how worried she was about me. When Luana noticed how sad I must have looked, her face went back to being more relaxed and I soon had Luana giving me a firm hug.

"Kellyn, you're not going to walk across that ice without me because there's no way you're going to slip or fall. If I have to carry you all the way until we reach that door, I'll do it." Luana said as she put her hand on my cheek, which made me feel flustered.


	13. Chapter 13: New friends and Staraptors

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, Pokemon Ranger or any of the characters in this story.**

"T-thanks Luana, I appreciate how much you care. We should let the Pokémon go first, the floor is stable enough to support all of us but I'd rather make sure they go across without any problems, we'll have the Haunter help them out." I said as I quickly kissed Luana on the lips, which made her blush and made my face feel even hotter than before. Our Pokémon started to giggle as they saw us kiss, with the Haunter taking our Partner Pokémon over first and then taking over the Vulpix and Raichu to where the door was.

Luana and I didn't have much issue getting over the icy floor, with the both of us locking arms as we walked over the ice, avoiding the gaps in the floor along the way and within a few minutes, we were with our Pokémon as Pachirisu and Buneary jumped with joy.

"See? That was simple, I knew could do it Kellyn!" Luana said as we headed into the next room which was small and had two doors.

"Thanks Luana, you're so helpful, I really appreciate that." I said as I hugged Luana.

Right as we were halfway across the room, we heard footsteps as two admins, one male and one female, came from the room at the back. The two admins looked surprised to see us, but they started to quickly become enraged as they noticed the radio in my hand and snatched it away, destroying it as they threw it against the wall.

"You two, how did you get that radio?! What are you doing in this castle? It belongs to Team Dim Sun now! Let's tell Ice about these two Rangers!" The male admin said.

"Yeah, this place is ours now! But hold on…we can't tell Ice about these two, we got rid of our radios, remember? Ice just continued ranting, he didn't talk for a while, but he hasn't found the gem yet, otherwise we would have all left by now. As for you Rangers, you two better be prepared to face our Pokémon, they're very tough!" The female admin said as Luana and I couldn't help but smirk at the two admins.

"You two don't have your radios yet you're going to have Pokémon attack us?" Luana said.

"Don't worry, you know we'll do our best against these two!" I said as the two admins looked more angrier than before as they got out their Miniremos and had two Sealeo, a Rattata and a Walrein attack us as we captured their Pokémon almost immediately with the admins' Miniremos malfunctioning.

"W-what?! You were able to capture all of them?!" The male admin said furiously.

"S-stupid Rangers, our Miniremos may not be working, but we'll keep fighting you two!" The female admin said, enraged.

The two admins attempted to attack Luana and I, but we were able to dodge their punches for a while, eventually though, the male admin was able to punch me in my jaw. I was able to hold my ground as I punched him back, hitting his nose, this only made him angrier as he tried to attack me again, however, Luana ran over to help me, with her giving the male admin a strong right hook, knocking him unconscious. Upon seeing this, the female admin tried to attack Luana as well, and while the female admin was able to hit Luana in her jaw, this didn't even make Luana flinch or get knocked back. If anything, it just made Luana enraged as she gave the female admin an uppercut, knocking her unconscious as well. Luana looked at me and ran up to me, giving me a hug while our Pokémon looked at us in amazement.  
"Kellyn, are you okay? Did that admin hurt you badly?" Luana said as she looked at me with her hazel eyes gazing into mine, full of worry.

"I'm okay Luana, I didn't expect the two of them to be so vicious. The good news is that we know to get our disguises now." I said, looking at the two unconscious admins.

"Good, I'm glad you're okay, good thing these two didn't have their radios!" Luana said as her face relaxed upon hearing I was okay.

Luana and I then moved the admins to the room they came out of, the room itself had some bookshelves and a table with some chairs while on top of the table was a small portable heater with the Team Dim Sun logo on it.

"A Team Dim Sum heater? At least these two will stay warm, they would freeze to death once we take their uniforms." Luana said.

"I know, these two may have been very eager to attack us, but them freezing to death would be horrible. Let's take their uniforms before they wake up, I wouldn't want them to try fighting us again!" I said as Luana and I put the admins on the chairs and as we took their uniforms, we saw that the two admins had another identical pair of admin clothing underneath.

"It would have made sense to have sweaters or jackets, but why would they have two admin uniforms on?" Luana said.

"I'm not sure, maybe these two admins were new or something, the Pokémon they attacked us with weren't too challenging." I said as I put the male admin's uniform over the Ranger Union jacket while Luana did the same with the female's uniform.

"That could be true, now that we have disguises, we don't have to worry about any grunts challenging us. We'll have the Pokémon stay safe in our shirts and the Haunter can simply turn invisible." Luana said as we walked out of the room with the Vulpix and Pachirisu in my shirt, while Luana had Raichu and Buneary in hers, I checked my Styler and noticed it was 5:46 P.M.

Luana and I walked through the door at the far end of the room and ended up being outside of the castle on a small walkway. We looked at the view near the railing and saw how pretty everything looked, the Ice Lake looked amazing and since the sun was starting to set, the lake really shimmered.

"Wow Kellyn, the Ice Lake looks so beautiful from here! The sun really gives a magical shine to it." Luana said, her eyes sparkling.

"I know Luana, I could just stay here with you and watch the sunset." I said, feeling my face get hot as Luana got closer to me.

"Really Kellyn, you would?" Luana said as she held my hand.

"Y-yes Luana, I definitely would." I said, my face starting to feel more and more hot as Luana kissed me on the lips. Eventually, we both had to break away from the kiss as Luana and I held each other for a short while.

"Being able to see something this beautiful with you is something I enjoy doing. I'm glad that you're my partner Kellyn." Luana said, wrapping her arm around me while we admired the lake.

"I agree Luana, I'm happy to share this gorgeous view with you, you're a lovely partner." I said.

Eventually, we decided to contact the Ranger Union about our findings so far to give them an update on the situation, we were able to get in touch with Marcus after we made sure our Styler volume was low.

"Hello Kellyn and Luana, Marcus here. You two are about halfway through the castle now, did you two discover anything interesting?" Marcus said.

"Hi Marcus, Luana and I were able to find to find out the name of one of the bosses of Team Dim Sun, his name is Ice, he's apart of some elite group in Team Dim Sun known as the Sinis Trio." I said

"Hello Marcus, Kellyn and I saw quite a few Team Dim Sun grunts and admins here, though we were able to get some disguises since we'll be encountering more of them." Luana said.

"Wow, thanks for the updates guys, I'll let Chairperson Erma know about this Sinis Trio, since they're with Team Dim Sun, they'll be attacking you guys with everything they've got. Good luck you two!" Marcus said.

"Thanks Marcus!" We both said as I hanged up my Styler.

Now that we let Marcus know about the Sinis Trio, Luana and I took one last look at the beautiful view as we headed into the castle. When we entered the next room, we noticed that it was very spacious and oddly, had no Pokémon or people in it, there was only one door in the room at the very end.

"This room makes me feel uneasy Kellyn, there's no furniture, people or Pokémon here, what could this room have been for?" Luana said, her face looking fraught with worry.

"I'm not too sure, nothing really comes to mind, it couldn't have been a place for Pokémon to relax, there's nothing here for them to sleep with. Maybe anything that was here was stolen by Team Dim Sun? Most of their members need money so perhaps that's why this place is so empty. If any grunts are nearby, we'll order them around." I said.

Upon saying this, Luana's expression went from worried to smiling, which made me smile as well.

"That's a good point, some of the members don't seem to like their job and just do it for money, like the three of those members from earlier. As for bossing some of them around, that sounds fun!" Luana said as she grinned.

We walked out of the large room and found ourselves in another large room that had bookshelves that reached the ceiling, these bookshelves completely covered two of the walls, with there also being a few tables and a couple of chairs as well as a large door at the back of the room. Luana and I were about to enter the large door when we noticed two grunts, a male and a female, rummaging through the bookshelves looking for something.

"Hmm, those two grunts look really frantic and since these uniforms are on, they won't attack us. Still, should we try avoiding them or should we simply talk with them and see what they're doing? I think talking with them would be a good idea since if they try to be rude or anything, we can order them to get back to work. What do you think?" I whispered so that only Luana could hear.

"I think we should talk to them. This is why you're the best, Kellyn, talking to them and acting like we're their bosses is a good idea." Luana whispered.

"Thanks, you're pretty great too, let's go up to them while they're looking through the bookshelves." I whispered as Luana and I started to walk up to the grunts who were still looking through the mainly empty bookshelves.

When they heard us, the two of them turned around and fearfully looked up at Luana and I.

"AHH! S-sorry tall admins, w-we didn't mean to goof off, we were just l-looking for some stuff." The female grunt said as her hands started shaking.

"W-why did you t-tell them we were looking f-for stuff in t-this room?! N-now they'll h-hurt us for sure! P-please d-don't rough us up t-too badly." The male grunt said, trembling.

_'__Wow, I feel bad for these two, they look so sleep deprived and scared of us just because of the admin uniform.'_ I thought.

"Don't worry, we're not going to hurt either of you. If anything, you two need to get some rest because of how tired you both look, the two of you look like you're about to collapse!" I said, concerned.

"Y-you guys aren't going to beat us up? T-thank you." The female grunt said as she started to sniffle.

"I-I'm a bit taken aback too, t-the two other admins always g-get mad at us f-for nothing yet none of t-the other admins get angry w-with us at all." The male grunt said, trying to hold back tears.

"The two of you have to get some rest right now, lack of sleep isn't good. Those two admins, was one a male and the other a female? Did they get angry with the other members too?" Luana said as she and I brought the two grunts over to one of the tables and sat them both in the chairs.

"That's correct, one was male and the other was female, while admins are always in pairs, they're usually either both male or both female. These two would get angry at any members except for any admins." The female grunt said.

"Yeah, they're so rude to us, those two admins are always like that to us, they always call us names and talk about how much they love insulting grunts." The male grunt said.

"Wow, those two admins should be taught to treat others with respect. I'm curious, were you two trying to get antiques to sell?" I said as the two grunts looked at each other.

"You guys can tell him, neither of us will hurt you two." Luana said with a smile which made the grunts breathe a sigh of relief.

"The both of you are so kind, we were going to sell any antiques we found for money since Team Dim Sun pays us grunts horribly, as you both know. As for letting us take that nap, are you sure it's okay?" The female grunt said.

"That makes sense, Team Dim Sun doesn't seem to care much about their grunts. Also, yes, you should both sleep, the two of you have been treated horribly." I said.

"T-thank you so much, we want to sleep but…will you two be back once we finish our nap? We love exploring this castle, it's a beautiful place." The male grunt said.

"It is a really beautiful castle, give us a moment and we'll check to see if we'll be able to come back." I said as Luana and I went to the far end of the room.

"What do you think Luana? It would be great to have additional company, but these two grunts might get injured or killed if any of the grunts are able to see that we're Pokémon Rangers, they'll think the grunts are deserting from Team Dim Sun." I said, keeping my voice at a whisper.

"Hmm, it would be simple to let them sleep but if those two admins become conscious, they could attack these two grunts, possibly even killing them. However, just like you said, if they see our uniforms, not only would the grunts appear to be leaving Team Dim Sun, but the two of them might attack us as well. I think bringing them along would be still be safer, especially because of how dangerous those two other admins are." Luana whispered.

"Excuse me admins, are you both almost finished?" The female grunt said.

"Yes, just a second!" I said.

"I agree Luana, even if the grunts see our uniforms, we'll capture their Pokémon anyway, let's have them tag along instead of them sleeping now. I got a good plan." I whispered as Luana and I walked back to the admins.

"Hi admins, are you two going to go and then come back later? We can take our nap, right?" The male admin said.

"I know we said that you two could rest, but actually, we need the both of you to join us. The two admins are actually going to be coming in this room in the next five minutes, so we have to be quick. By the way, I never got either of your names, my name's Kellyn and this is Luana." I said as Luana smiled at them and shook their hands.

I knew that the Team Dim Sun admins, the Sinis Trio and their boss, who was possibly Kincaid, would be enraged at the Rangers, but would only really talk about how to get rid of us, they wouldn't tell the grunts anything about any specific Rangers because they considered them too lowly.

"Kellyn and Luana? Those are nice names, you guys are the first admins who actually want to know our names, my name is Ben and she's Betty. D-did you say that the two admins…a-are coming here?!" Ben said as he started to tremble again.

"Don't worry, let's go before they come here!" I said.

Luana and I moved Ben and Betty towards the large door though we had to open the doors with one hand for each side and had to help Ben and Betty through the door since they were so scared of the admins, they could barely move. We all ended up reaching the outside of the castle again, on a walkway identical to the one Luana and I kissed on, though now it was starting to get darker.

"Wow, you guys are nice but you're both incredibly strong to be able to open those double doors like nothing, it took both of us to open just one door for us to get through! Are you two going to explore the castle, or talk with Ice?" Betty said.

"We were actually about to go talk with Ice because of the abuse that those two admins gave you. Kellyn and I know where he's headed but we don't know exactly how to get there. Can you two help us?" Luana said.

"You guys would do that for us? We really appreciate that! Don't worry, it's no big deal that you two don't know how to get around this castle, most of the other grunts and admins don't. Betty and I have a general layout of the castle from the exploring we were doing. Kellyn and you can stay in front since you two are the admins but we'll help you guys out if either of you get confused on where to go!" Ben said as we left the walkway and went deeper into the castle.

The next room we entered was filled with snow and most of the furniture that was inside the room was covered with frost due to a wall that had been destroyed recently, there was a small door at the far back of the room which wasn't covered with frost. Luana looked rather annoyed and I couldn't blame her, we wondered why Team Dim Sun just couldn't use the front door.

"That wall was fine when Betty and I walked by here a couple of hours ago, why is it even destroyed?" Ben said, confused.

"I'm not sure, maybe those admins destroyed this wall." Luana said.

Just as we were all heading to the door, we heard footsteps. Turning around, we saw the two admins from earlier carrying their little heater and they looked irate. Upon seeing the two admins, Ben and Betty cowered behind us.

"You two, you stole our uniforms! Give them back to us, now!" The male admin said as he and the female admin put the heater down on a frost covered table. Once they did so, the female admin noticed Ben and Betty.

"You losers are hiding behind those two Rangers huh? I knew the both of you weren't fit for Team Dim Sun and would become deserters, but I didn't think you two would be dumb enough to trust Rangers." The female admin said as she spat out the words in anger, making Ben and Betty tremble.

"The both of you are horrible, how can you treat others that way?!" Luana said as she gritted her teeth.

"W-wait, you two are Pokémon Rangers?" Ben said meekly.

"Yes, Luana and I were here to get something very important and while we might be Rangers, we're still better than these two." I said, glaring at the admins.

"We're going to win this time, let's get out our Miniremos." The male admin said, smirking as he and the female admin both took out Miniremos.

Luana and I lunged at them, managing to punch the male admin in the nose which knocked him to the floor, while the female admin was able to dodge us and throw a punch at Luana. Ben and Betty were able to help us by subduing the female admin while we looked around for the other admin. Our Pokémon came out to help while Raichu and Vulpix went over to where Ben and Betty were just in case the admin tried running. As Luana and I looked around the room, we saw the male admin in the corner as he glared at us.

"Hah, this Pokémon will be the one that gets me promoted to a higher rank than the Sinis Trio, then I can order around that fool, Ice." The male admin said as Luana and I prepared our Stylers.

The two Haunters started to get nervous as Luana and I heard a Pokémon's laugh and quickly saw that we would be facing a Gengar. The Gengar vanished almost instantly and started messing with the Haunters by attacking them with Shadow Ball. Pachirisu decided to use his Thunder Wave in an attempt to hit the Gengar and after launching a few Thunder Waves, one was able to paralyze the Gengar. Luana had Buneary use her Poké Assist to make capturing the Gengar a little easier, though eventually, the paralysis wore off as the Gengar vanished again.

It quickly reappeared and spat out two large purple flames that chased us around the room, after a while, the flames vanished and Luana and I continued to make loops around the Gengar whenever it would briefly appear. I noticed my Styler and that we had half of the Gengar's friendship meter filled up, we decided to get the Haunter to help us out with their Ghost Poké Assist since it'll make the Gengar get tired and not attack much. The Haunters helped Luana and I by summoning black mist with glowing red eyes that went after the Gengar even though it was invisible. As the black mist found the Gengar, it would become visible and would attempt to vanish again but wasn't able to do so. I made several loops around the Gengar while Luana cheered me on, this Gengar had much more health than a normal one but thankfully, the Ghost Poké Assists were wearing it down.

After I made a few more loops, I switched with Luana as she had the Haunters use more of the black mist, the Poké Assist had two minutes left before the Pokémon would be released. I saw on my Styler that the Gengar was almost captured, the black mist was wearing it down effectively and after just a few more loops, Luana caught the Gengar and after she did so, it looked around confused as the Gengar and Haunters quickly vanished to go back to their habitat.

After the Pokémon went back to their habitat, the admin was still typing on the Miniremo, unaware that it broke. Luana and I lunged at him again, making sure that he wouldn't try to punch us or escape, since he was continuing to struggle, Luana lifted him up as she placed him on a chair next to the female admin. Vulpix and Raichu weren't happy at all as they glared at the two admins who were actually afraid of the two Pokémon. Luana looked enraged as she walked over to the admins, I could tell that she wasn't angry that they attacked her, but as she started gritting her teeth, it was obvious that she was really furious at how they abused Ben and Betty and attacked me. I went over to the table with Pachirisu and Buneary, as I stood next to Luana, she turned to me and gave a small smile and a wink.

"Wow! Great work Luana and Kellyn, that Pokémon was seriously tough!" Ben said.

"Yeah, you guys did an awesome job!" Betty said.

"Thanks guys!" Luana and I said simultaneously as Luana grimaced at the admins.

"The two of you are admins? You're both horrible with the way you treated these two. Do you even know their names?" Luana said as the male admin started to laugh, though a glare from Luana quickly silenced him.

"They're lowly members and they're worthless, just like all the grunts of Team Dim Sun and that Ranger over there." The female admin said as she tried getting out of Betty's grasp, though Raichu started charging up electricity, which made her give up on struggling.

"While I won't say their names because of how you both treated them, I will say that you both disgust me. Abusing people like that…that's not something anyone deserves, these grunts are people too." Luana said as she kicked the female admin's shin in a rage over her attempts to insult us, causing the admin to yell in pain.

"Luana, how about we get some Staraptors from the Ranger Union to come? We should have them take the two grunts and the two admins to the Ranger Union for safety." I said.

"That's a good idea Kellyn, maybe the admins will know about Team Dim Sun's plan or leader in intricate detail, we know they want to control all Pokémon, but we need to know who's running the operation." Luana said.

"The Ranger Union? We've always wanted to go there!" Ben said as Betty grinned.

"Since you two don't your way around the castle, I'll tell you guys about the area Ice will be. Ice will be on the bottom floor of the castle and there will be a room covered in ice and the both of you need the help of two Riolu. The actual room is surprisingly easy to get to and you guys aren't too far from the bottom so I think you two will find it quickly! Another thing is that even if Ice reaches the bottom first, he still has to go all the way back to the castle entrance and you guys can always ambush him!" Betty said.

"I'm glad you guys will be able to go to the Ranger Union! Thank you for the help, Luana and I will remember needing the assistance of Riolu. I'll ask for some Staraptors right now!" I said as I started looking for my Styler, I was able to get it and was about to call the Ranger Union when I noticed that a cabinet door was open and noticed something shining inside. Curious, I walked over to it and saw a large rope, I took it out and walked over to Luana. I was happy that this rope was here because this would be strong enough to tie up those admins, meaning they would no longer be a nuisance.

"Kellyn, since we'll have four Team Dim Sun members going to the Ranger Union, how about we tie the admins up and use some of that rope on the grunts' wrists so the Rangers know they're not a threat?" Luana said.

"That's a smart idea, I'll let the Ranger Union know!" I said as I started to call the Ranger Union, hoping to reach Marcus. Luana had a grin on her face as she started to tie up the admins, making sure their feet and arms were covered so they couldn't attack anyone. Luana then had Ben and Betty come over while she tied the rope around one of their wrists each while making sure it couldn't fall off.

"Hello Kellyn! You and Luana are making good progress in the castle, you guys are almost to the end. Do you two have any new information so far?" Marcus said as Luana walked over to me.

"Hi Marcus, Luana and I were able to capture two Team Dim Sun admins with the help of two grunts that were being abused by them. We would like to request Staraptors to bring all four of them to the Ranger Union. Both of the admins are tied up because they've been violent towards Luana and I several times and the two grunts will have rope tied to their wrists so that the Rangers know that they helped us. Can you possibly get four Staraptors to our location?" I said.

"You guys are amazing, no one has been able to capture any Team Dim Sun member, let alone two admins! I'll arrange four Staraptors right away, though once they reach the Ranger Union, all four of them will have some Rangers talking to them about Team Dim Sun and what they might know about their plans. Bye guys!" Marcus said.

"Thanks for the help Marcus, bye!" Luana and I said simultaneously as I hanged up.

After waiting for a few minutes, I heard the wings of four Staraptors as they entered through the hole in the wall. Two of them had harnesses for the admins to be attached to in a way that they wouldn't fall off, while also forcing the admins to sit up and also prevented them from struggling. Ben and Betty looked so happy as they got on the Staraptors, but they quickly got off and gave both of us a quick hug, afterwards, they climbed back on the Staraptors.


	14. Chapter 14: Shiver Camp

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, Pokemon Ranger or the characters in this****story.**

Chapter 14: Shiver Camp

"Thank you guys, we're happy to finally be going to the Ranger Union!" Ben said excitedly.

"I'm glad those two admins can no longer abuse us, thanks Luana and Kellyn." Betty said.

"You're welcome, hope you guys enjoy the Ranger Union once the Rangers are done talking with you two!" I said as the Staraptors started to fly off as they headed back to the Ranger Union. Luana and I took off the admin uniforms since we were heading to the end of the castle and if any grunts decided to pick a fight with us, Luana and I would capture their Pokémon.

"Great work Kellyn, now it's time to find Ice!" Luana said as we walked through the small doorframe and our Pokémon climbed back into our jackets, with both of us having to crouch due to its shortened doorframe.

The next room we entered was covered with ice and there were two doors, with an odd indentation in the center. Luana and I looked at each other and smiled, knowing that these doors had to be where the Riolu were.

"Luana, which door do you want to go through this time? Do you think there's going to be more Pokémon than just the Riolu in either of these rooms?" I said.

"I'll go through the left door, if there are more Pokémon in these rooms, I hope they're ones we haven't captured yet! Good luck Kellyn!" Luana said as she carefully walked to the left door while I did the same.

When I entered the room, I noticed a Riolu sitting on top of a bookshelf, when I took a step forward, it hopped down and looked up at me. Riolu jumped back a little and then started hopping around while it launched a small sphere that looked like it was filled with electricity that attached itself to the floor, after a short while, it disappeared. The Riolu was fast and continuously hopped around while it launched a few Aura spheres, though none were aimed straight at me. It certainly looked like this Riolu was playing with me if anything, most Pokémon would attack the Capture Line or the Ranger directly. After dealing with its hopping around as it launched Aura Spheres and electrical energy, I was able to capture the Riolu. As I exited the room, I went over to the indentation in the center of the room and after a moment, I saw Luana exiting the other room as she walked over to where I was.

"You caught the Riolu fast, nice work! Now let's see what's with this indentation." Luana said as she started to examine the indentation. She started to press her hands against the indentation and it immediately crumbled into pieces.

I turned back to look at the Riolu as I wondered if that was what we needed to do and I noticed that all of our Friend and Partner Pokémon look shocked. Seeing their expressions made me chuckle and Luana turned around and started to giggle when she saw how surprised they looked.

"Looks like the Riolu were supposed to break the indentation, but you did it easily! Awesome work, Luana!" I said.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry Riolu! I didn't know it would have broken so easily!" Luana said as she picked up both Riolu and hugged them tightly, letting them go after a short while.

The two Riolu smiled as they went ahead, with us and the other Partner Pokémon following them, after walking down a long hallway, we came to a large room that wasn't covered in ice. Luana and I observed the room and saw that a large door that was open, with a cold breeze coming through. As we walked to the center of the room, Luana and I saw that there was a small room at the end, we decided to go there first in case there were any Pokémon that we didn't capture, though we told our Friend Pokémon to wait there while we approached the entrance to the room with Pachirisu and Buneary.

When Luana and I went inside the room itself, we saw that there was a lot of pottery scattered around and there were a few Pokémon wandering around. Luana and I saw a peculiar statue in the back of the room, upon closer inspection, it was made of solid ice and the Field Move required a Pokémon to use a powerful Flamethrower, the Pokémon we needed to get was a Charizard, which we haven't captured yet. I noticed that there was one Pokémon that we didn't catch, it was a Dratini that was in the corner of the room, playing with a vase.

We carefully approached the Dratini and as it spotted us, it decided to hop out of the vase and attack us with a slow tackle, once we dodged it, I started to make loops around it. Its other attack involved launching small blue flames which were rather hard to dodge, however, in no time, I was able to capture it.

After successfully catching the Dratini, Luana and I patted it on its head as we released shortly afterwards, it slithered back over to the vase it was playing with and went inside, which made Luana and I smile at the Dratini as we exited the room to return to our Pokémon.

"That was a great capture Kellyn, that Dratini was adorable! However, that odd statue was really interesting, I made a notation of it so we can come back to here later." Luana said as we returned to the center of the room.

"Thanks Luana, don't forget how great you are at capturing Pokémon too, that Dratini was really playful and even though we can't use a Field Move on that statue now, we'll come back to do it! Now that we've captured every Pokémon we've seen so far, it's time to get that Blue Gem!" I said as Luana nodded.

As Luana and I entered the next room, we saw that we were in a large hallway and the floor was covered with ice and as we were about to walk towards the end, Luana got a call on her Styler.

"Hello guys, it's Marcus, the two of you have to be careful, you're at the end of the castle and there's a very powerful Pokémon ahead of you guys. I see that you two have some Friend Pokémon, since you guys have an Electric type and a Fire type Pokémon, you'll be able to use their Poké Assists efficiently since as you both know, they can make Pokémon not able to move at all as well as making them get tired, respectively. Good luck you two!" Marcus said.

"Thanks for the advice Marcus, we'll get that Blue Gem!" I said as Luana hanged up the Styler.

"If you're ready, so am I, let's do this!" Luana said as we started to jog through the long hallway.

Our Pokémon were a few feet ahead of us and while Luana and I were about halfway through the hallway, we heard a loud rumble that made the entire castle shake and I felt myself get pushed hard. Eventually, the rumbling stopped and as I was able to recover, I looked around and saw that several icicles had fallen, with one of them falling right where I was standing. As I stood up, Luana ran over to me and we both each other hugged tightly, after a brief hug, Luana put her hands to my face as our Pokémon came over.

"Kellyn, are you hurt? That icicle almost killed you!" Luana said, worry in her eyes.

"I…I'm not hurt Luana, I'm okay thanks to you!" I said, surprised that Luana was able to react so quickly.

"Good, let's hurry to the end of this room before another one of those quakes happen." Luana said as we sprinted the rest of the way, thankfully, no other quakes happened.

As we entered the room, we noticed the only thing in the room itself were two Riolu statues and a giant translucent blue wall made of energy that was covering a door. As our Pokémon entered, the two Riolu went to the statues and stood still, shortly afterwards, they launched an Aura Sphere at the wall, making it dissipate, the Riolu started to walk back to their habitat but when they reached the entrance, they turned to us and gave a happy wave.

"Thanks for the help Riolu, we appreciate it!" Luana and I said as we waved back to the Riolu.

"Now that we've gotten through most of the castle, it's time to head into the final room, we got Vulpix, Raichu, Buneary and Pachirisu to help us out. Let's go!" Luana said as we entered through the door that was now accessible.

When we entered, we saw a man with a blue jacket and matching hair with his back turned to us, up ahead, we saw a large Blue Gem waiting on a pedestal. It was obvious this man was Ice and since we were quite a distance from him, we figured trying to get a bit closer would be a good idea. As we took a step forward, Ice turned around and looked a bit shocked, though he quickly changed his expression to a grin.

"Hello, I was waiting for the two of you. I heard a lot about you guys from Kincaid, what were your names again? Oh, I remember, Kellyn and Luana! Kincaid is really steamed at you guys. He keeps saying that he has to defeat the both of you to make himself look good in front of the boss. I'll just battle you guys to defeat you two myself!" Ice said with a smirk.

"Kincaid, huh? Well, we're not going to lose to the likes of Kincaid, or anyone at Team Dim Sun, especially you!" I said, irritably.

"Hmph, none of the members from Team Dim Sun have ever been able to defeat us, let's go Ice!" Luana said, her expression looking fierce as Ice took out a Miniremo.

Almost instantly, Luana and I heard a cackle as the room started to get even colder than it already was as we both huddled closer, with our Pokémon coming out of our jackets, prepared to fight the Pokémon that Ice had attack us. After a few seconds, we saw a Froslass appear from behind Ice as he gave as a grin, Luana started to make loops around the Froslass, which immediately made the Froslass start to attack Luana with large ice chunks while it summoned purple flames to be used as a barrier to damage our Capture Lines if they got too close. I noticed that one of the ice chunks from the ceiling was about to fall on Luana as her Styler took some damage.

"Vulpix, use Flamethrower on that ice chunk! Pachirisu and Raichu, try paralyzing that Froslass with Thunder Wave!" I said, determined to protect Luana.

As our Pokémon used their moves, Vulpix was able to melt the ice chunk, turning it into water as Raichu and Pachirisu were able to paralyze the Froslass.

"Thanks Kellyn, now it'll be easier for us to capture this Froslass!" Luana said as she continued making loops around the Froslass.

As I ran over to help Luana, I took a quick glance at Ice and saw his expression was full of confusion, he didn't expect us to use our Pokémon like how Pokémon Trainers would or for us to even bring any Pokémon with us at all.

After making dozens of loops around the Froslass, I noticed it's friendship meter was a quarter of the way there. Thankfully, Raichu and Pachirisu were ready to paralyze the Froslass as soon as it recovered, though my Styler notified me that they could only do so for a few more seconds. After the Froslass shook off the paralysis, both Pokémon were able to give it one last Thunder Wave before they needed to rest.

I decided to take over from Luana and allow her to rest while I got her Buneary to help making capturing the Froslass a little bit easier. Eventually, the Froslass had its friendship meter go up halfway, just as Buneary got tired from its Poké Assist. However, the Froslass was able to shrug off the paralysis and started to attack me with an Ice Beam, which I just narrowly avoided, the Froslass looked enraged as it started to fire another Ice Beam at me and thankfully, I was able to use Vulpix's Poké Assist to wear it down, with the fire being very effective against it, which made Froslass not attack as much.

I continued to make loops around the Froslass and I did my best to avoid hitting the purple flames it surrounded itself with, it wasn't too difficult to do, but when it started making ice chunks fall from the ceiling, I glanced over at Raichu and Pachirisu to see if either one of them were able to paralyze the Froslass. Understandably, both of them were tired and my Styler showed that Pachirisu's energy level was halfway full.

"Don't worry Kellyn, you got this, stay as calm as you can!" Luana said as she cheered me on.

I nodded as I continued to make loops around the Froslass, it eventually shook off the paralysis and fired an Ice Beam at me, I was barely able to dodge it. I continuously dodged its attacks and made loops around it whenever it wasn't launching an Ice Beam at me, even though I was getting exhausted, I couldn't let it attack Luana.

"Kellyn, I'll take over, you need to take a quick rest!" Luana said as she ran over to the Froslass as I moved back a little bit, which kept me from being attacked.

I saw how quick Luana was moving and I noticed Vulpix was able to use its Poké Assist again. As Luana had Vulpix wear down the Froslass, making it attack much less than before, I noticed on my Styler that the friendship meter was almost full, Froslass was close to being captured!

However, the Froslass launched a purple flame that flew towards Luana and I pushed her out of the way so she or her Styler wouldn't get hit, though it did manage to damage my Styler quite a bit, doing ten damage to it.

After I continued to do a few loops around the Froslass, I saw that Pachirisu and Buneary both got their energy back and as I had Pachirisu use Thunder Wave to prevent Froslass from moving, Luana had her Buneary help out with the Capture Line and after a few more loops, Froslass was captured! As Froslass broke free of being mind-controlled, it went back to its habitat as Ice's Miniremo malfunctioned, surprisingly, he had a smile on his face.

"Good work you two, you might be able to face the Guardian of the Blue Gem. I'm out of here, the both of you are skilled." Ice said as he walked past us and out of the room.

Luana and I walked up to the Blue Gem as our Pokémon all got up, being able to recover after an arduous battle. As we got closer to the Blue Gem, we heard a growl as a Lucario came out from behind the pedestal.

"A…A Lucario?! Kellyn, we have to face the Guardian of the Blue Gem, we beat Ice and we can win this battle too!" Luana said, eager to face a powerful Pokémon.

"That's right Luana! Lucario, we do not mean any harm to you or the Blue Gem. Would you please accept our request to battle you?" I said, determined to face this Lucario.

Lucario nodded and got into a fighting stance, ready to guard the Blue Gem as Aura briefly surrounded it. At first, all the Lucario did was hop around rather quickly, but Luana used Pachirisu to make the Lucario immobile as I started to make loops around it. To my surprise, the Lucario's friendship meter filled up rather quickly, being able to reach around halfway in only thirty loops while it was still paralyzed.

However, it quickly shook off the paralysis as it launched four orbs filled with electricity. Lucario soon glowed with Aura as it started to launch several Aura Spheres, thankfully, none of them were aimed at us or the Pokémon as I had Vulpix use its Poké Assist to wear Lucario down and the next time it attacked, it was able to launch only two orbs of electricity instead of four. I decided to have Luana fight the Lucario as I had Raichu paralyze it, making Luana have a much easier time dealing with it.

After thirty or so loops, the Lucario was captured successfully, it nodded and smiled at us. We both walked up to the Lucario as it looked up at us, seemingly happy that we were able to capture it quickly. The Lucario showed us the Blue Gem as it motioned a hand for us to take it, Luana and I went up to the Blue Gem as we happily held it, noticing how much it made us feel energized, Luana and I saw that our Styler energy had been fully restored.

I stored the Blue Gem inside the jacket, making sure it was safe. Lucario then went up to the pedestal and launched an Aura Sphere at the ground where the Blue Gem was, which showed a translucent orb. The Lucario motioned for us to simply make contact with it and Luana and I both thanked the Lucario for its assistance which made it smile as it went to the entrance of the room and continued walking, presumably to wander around the castle. Luana and I touched the small orb and we instantly found ourselves outside of the castle with our Pokémon and a Staraptor nearby.

"Kellyn, we did it! We got the Blue Gem!" Luana said as she hugged me.

"The Ranger Union will be happy to hear, we're an awesome team Luana, I couldn't have caught those Pokémon without you! Also, that reminds me, we had Vulpix and Raichu use their Poké Assists yet strangely, they're on our team still, they didn't get released like the other Friend Pokémon do. Do you think they connected with us?" I said as I returned the hug.

"Hmm, that is rather weird, they haven't been released so maybe they did decide to join us! Would you like to come along with Kellyn and I, Vulpix and Raichu? Where we're going isn't cold like here, but I think the both of you will love it!" Luana said as she sat down to observe the two Pokémon's reactions.

The Vulpix and Raichu looked at each other and hugged Luana while Pachirisu and Buneary jumped up and down, excited to have more friends. After they stopped hugging Luana, they started hugging me and afterwards, Vulpix started to happily run around.

"Since we got the Blue Gem and more Pokémon on our team, let's tell the Ranger Union!" Luana said happily as she called the Ranger Union Operator Room.

"Hello? Good morning, this is the Ranger Union Operator Room…Kellyn, Luana! It's been a while guys, how are you two?" Marcus said groggily.

"Hahah, good morning? Marcus, it can't be that early! Luana and I just got the Blue Gem after battling a member of the Sinis Trio, Ice and befriending a Lucario, the Blue Gem Guardian." I said.

"That's right, it's definitely not morning, at least it doesn't feel that way. We were able to get the Blue Gem after a lot of hard work, but we enjoyed it, we got two more Pokémon with us, we're not sure if they want to be Partner Pokémon, but we hope that if they don't choose to be Partner Pokémon, that they'll still be allowed!" Luana said.

"That's wonderful! Your Vulpix and Raichu can live in the Ranger Union, even if they decide to not become Partner Pokémon! If there are any Staraptor nearby, you two should head to Shiver Camp and then head back to the Ranger Union when you guys can, right now it's 3:27 A.M., you guys were in that castle for a long time!" Marcus said as he stifled a yawn.

"3:27 A.M.?! We'll head to Shiver Camp right away! Thanks Marcus, bye!" Luana said.

"No problem guys, get some sleep! Bye!" Marcus said as he hanged up.

I noticed a Staraptor flying nearby and I quickly caught it. I had Luana go on the Staraptor first, followed by our Partner Pokémon and new team members, with me going on last.

"Staraptor, take us to Shiver Camp please!" I said as Staraptor flew us to Shiver Camp in no time, as we all got off the Staraptor, Luana and I waved to it as it nodded and flew back to Almia Castle.

"Kellyn, we should take a short rest if you're feeling exhausted. If you'd like, we could head to the Ranger Depot and take a nap there, everyone else is most likely asleep." Luana said as she put her arm around my shoulder, making my face feel hot.

"I don't need to sleep Luana, if anything you need to sleep, you did a lot of hard work at Almia Castle!" I said as I felt my eyelids close for a few seconds, I quickly opened them to see Luana looking at me, her expression being concerned. Our Pokémon also looked at how tired we were and ran over to the Ranger Depot.

"Kellyn, we both did a lot of hard work and we're both very exhausted. You and I have to get some sleep right away!" Luana said as she helped me into the Ranger Depot, with our Pokémon already inside.

As we both entered, we noticed the Operator fixing up things around the counter and making sure everything looked nice. When we walked up to the counter, she noticed us as her face looked surprised.

"Oh my, Kellyn, Luana! I'm glad you two are back but you both look ready to collapse! I have two beds in the back of the Ranger Depot, please feel free to rest!" The Operator said.

"Thank you, we'll definitely get some rest!" Luana said as she continued to help me towards the beds at the back. I could feel my eyelids closing more frequently now, but we eventually reached the beds as Luana carefully placed me on one of them while she removed both of our shoes as she got in the bed closest to me, with our Pokémon being at the foot of our beds.

"Do you feel more relaxed now? We'll be safe here, don't you worry Kellyn!" Luana said as she smiled at me.

"I do, thanks Luana, I really didn't feel like sleeping but I appreciate you taking me here to rest. Good night Luana." I said as we held hands, Luana was starting to fall asleep almost immediately, with her face turned towards me.

"No problem Kellyn, let's get some sleep, we both need to rest. Good night." Luana said as she drifted off to sleep.

Eventually, I started to wake up, feeling much more refreshed than before. I sat up and saw Luana peacefully sleeping, with Pachirisu and Buneary huddled together while Raichu and Vulpix were doing the same. As I checked my Styler for any notifications from the Ranger Union, I noticed that the time was 10:30 A.M. and I was surprised we were asleep for so long, though I'm glad we were able to get some rest. A few seconds later, Luana started to sit up as she rubbed her eyelids.

"Good morning Luana! Did you get a good sleep?" I said.

"Good morning Kellyn, I definitely did get a good rest, did you?" Luana said as she smiled and looked at me.

"I did! When you're ready, we can go back to the Ranger Union, but first, we can say bye to Pamurph and Mrs. Winter." I said as our Pokémon also started to wake up.

"Bye, thanks for letting us rest here!" Luana and I said we were waving to the Operator and leaving the Ranger Depot.

"Goodbye, come back anytime!" The Operator said as she waved back.

Luana and I headed out the door and started to walk over the Pamurph's house when we saw him removing some ice from his windows, as Luana and I approached him, he turned around and smiled.


	15. Chapter 15: A dangerous Ranger

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon at all and I don't own Pokemon Ranger either.**

Chapter 15: A Dangerous Ranger

"Hi guys, good morning! The two of you are back quick, please come inside!" Pamurph said as he opened the door for us. Luana and I let the Pokémon through first and then I let Luana enter through the door, with me entering last as we both sat down on the chairs. Pamurph started to make some soup and within no time, brought the bowls of soup to us, while he also gave our Pokémon some food as well.

"Good morning Pamurph, thanks for the food! Kellyn and I were able to get the Blue Gem after a lot of hard work." Luana said as I showed Pamurph the shining Blue Gem.

"Wow, I always heard of the beautiful Blue Gem and how it can make Shadow Crystals harmless when it's brought together with the other gems, but I never thought I would get to see it! You two did amazing work!" Pamurph said as he admired the Blue Gem, after examining it for a while, he handed it back to me as I put it back in the jacket.

"Thank you Pamurph, we have to head back to the Ranger Union now, but we'll say goodbye to Mrs. Winter before we go." I said.

"There's no need, she's actually going to be here for a bit, she's bringing a Ninetales with her!" Pamurph said.

There was a light knock on the door and since Luana and I already finished our soup, I went ahead and opened the door. I opened it slightly to make sure it was Mrs. Winter and upon seeing that it was her, I opened the door fully to allow her and the Ninetales inside and then closed the door. The Ninetales was very friendly with us and I knew that it was the same Ninetales that we captured previously as I happily rubbed its fur. While our Pokémon looked happy after eating their food, Vulpix was excited to see the Ninetales and started running around it while Mrs. Winter sat down and Pamurph brought her a bowl of soup.

"Good morning Kellyn, Luana and Pamurph, it's nice to see all of you! That Vulpix is really happy to see its mother after such a long time and since it's taken a liking to the both of you, the Ninetales wanted to see it before you all left." Mrs. Winter said.

"That's so sweet, don't worry Ninetales, we'll take good care of Vulpix!" Luana said as Ninetales smiled at us.

"So, I assume since the both of you are back, did you two retrieve the Blue Gem?" Mrs. Winter said.

"Yes we did, it was hard work but Luana and I were able to get it done, she's a wonderful partner!" I said as Luana blushed.

I showed the Blue Gem to Mrs. Winter as Ninetales looked at the Blue Gem and smiled, happy that we were able to get the Blue Gem.

"Oh my, this gem is so sparkling and beautiful, it's truly something magnificent! You're both wonderful Top Rangers!" Mrs. Winter said.

"I know, I'm glad to see something so amazing, Kellyn and Luana really did a fantastic job!" Pamurph said as he and Mrs. Winter finished their soup.

"Thanks guys, you both gave us helpful advice for Almia Castle and Hippowdon Ruins. Thanks for the soup Pamurph, it was delicious." I said as Pamurph took all the empty bowls and put them in the sink.

"It's no problem at all guys, are you both headed back to the Ranger Union now?" Pamurph said.

"Yes, we're going to drop off the Blue Gem to Chairperson Erma, I think Sven and Wendy were able to get their gem as well. Don't you worry Ninetales, like Luana said, we'll make sure Vulpix stays safe with us. Thank you for everything Mrs. Winter and Pamurph, we really appreciate it. We'll try to visit when we can, bye!" I said as Luana and I shook their hands. We got up to go with our Pokémon, with Ninetales nuzzling Vulpix as it walked with us, we walked out the door and waved goodbye to Mrs. Winter and Pamurph and as they returned the wave, Ninetales went up to us and gave us a nuzzle and we rubbed her fur.

After we exited Pamurph's house, we spotted a nearby Staraptor and captured it, afterwards, Luana and I got on Staraptor with our Pokémon in the middle. We asked the Staraptor to go to the Ranger Union and it nodded, within no time, we were back and only five feet from the Ranger Union's entrance.

"Thanks for the help Staraptor!" Luana said as the Staraptor nodded and flew away.

"Now that we're here, let's go give Chairperson Erma the Blue Gem!" I said as I ran to the Ranger Union doors, with Luana and our Pokémon a few feet behind me. But before I could get inside the actual building, someone knocked into me, making me fall to the ground.

"Hey, why don't you look where you're going?" A male voice said, clearly annoyed.

"I'm sorry, I was running a bit too fast." I said apologetically, not wanting to annoy this person any further as I heard Luana run up to me, making sure I was okay.

"You're that Ranger from before, the one with those two girls who kept insulting us. Aren't you the one who's going to say sorry for how rude you were to Kellyn?" Luana said angrily as she helped me up.

"Tch, definitely not, you two are losers and horrible Rangers. Chairperson Erma had us do paperwork and you want us to apologize to your boyfriend?!" The Ranger said as he punched me in the jaw before I could even react, making me stagger back a bit. I could hear Raichu and Pachirisu charge up their electricity while I saw Vulpix and Buneary hopping up and down, clearly angry. Right when I was about to punch him back, I noticed Luana giving him a powerful left hook, knocking him unconscious.

"Kellyn, are you okay? Did he hurt you?" Luana said as she checked my face to make sure there were no serious injuries.

"I'm okay Luana, thanks for the help. We should let Chairperson Erma know about his attack, you're great at punching." I said, a bit annoyed that he attacked me, though I smiled at Luana when I saw how much she defended me.

"Don't you worry Kellyn, that's what partners do! Let's go to the Tree of Harmony!" Luana said, smiling as she looked at me.

As Luana and I went inside the Ranger Union, with our Pokémon following us close behind, we noticed that oddly enough, there were no receptionists like there usually are. We walked up to the counter and noticed a note that said all the receptionists are attending a meeting in order to deal with combative or argumentative citizens.

"Angry citizens huh? Maybe they wouldn't be so angry if we gave them some food, they would love my cooking!" Luana said happily.

"I've never tried your cooking! We can always cook for each other if you'd like to, what do you think?" I said, excited to try Luana's cooking.

"Of course we can, that's a great idea!" Luana said as she briefly wrapped her arm around mine, making me blush as we both went up the escalator to the second floor and then proceeded to go to the third floor.

Luana and I noticed how at first, the Operator's Room was the same as always, with Marcus and Linda helping out various Rangers. This time was a bit different though, as there were several Top Mechanics fixing several various machines as well as the screen that showed the statuses of all the Rangers was blank, perhaps they were doing an update or possibly maintaining the system. We were a bit curious so we decided to watch them for a bit as a few Top Mechanics started to update the software of the second screen, afterwards, Luana and I went upstairs and saw Chairperson Erma sitting by the Tree of Harmony, with three pedestals in front of her.

"Hello dearies, I heard about the amazing work you two did in Almia Castle! The both of you are doing wonderful and because of that, you're both being raised to Ranger Rank 6 and receiving the rest of the day off, it's only 2:15 P.M so the two of you can take a well deserved break." Chairperson Erma said happily as Luana and I gave each other a hug while our Pokémon jumped up and down in joy.

"Thank you Chairperson Erma, we'll certainly take a rest! Luana and I have great news, we brought back the Blue Gem from Almia Castle! However, there was also an issue with a male Ranger, he was the same one who disrespected us when Kellyn was trying to recover from his injuries. He attacked Kellyn and punched him hard in his face." Luana said as I handed the Blue Gem to Chairperson Erma.

I saw her ball her fists up in a rage and I put my hand on her shoulder, which made her calm down. Seeing Luana so upset always makes me sad, especially because of how wonderful she is.

"That's right, I bumped into him by mistake and he got so angry at me but I'm okay thanks to Luana." I said, smiling at Luana while she smiled back.

"Oh my! Don't worry dearies, I'm glad the two of you were able to get the Blue Gem, I'll put it on one of these pedestals. As for the Ranger that attacked you, I'm so sorry that happened, Kellyn. You're not hurt either, are you Luana? I'll revoke his Ranger license immediately, where is he?" Chairperson Erma said as she put the Blue Gem on the center pedestal, covering it with a glass dome.

"Well…I'm not injured, but since he decided to attack Kellyn, I knocked him out, he might still be unconscious on the ground." Luana said as she sadly looked at the floor, though when I put my hand on her shoulder and smiled at her, she cheered up as she gave me a grin.

"Good, I'm glad the both of you are okay. I'll call one of the Area Rangers who has a Growlithe and have him bring the attacker inside right away." Chairperson Erma said as she got on her Styler and asked for an Area Ranger to look for the male Ranger outside.

"I'm not going to be fired? I'm so grateful, thank you. I would be cautious of the other two Rangers as well. Even though they weren't nearby, they would most likely become enraged upon finding out their friend's Ranger license is going to be revoked." Luana said.

"Fired, whatever for? It's understandable that you punched him, Luana, he attacked Kellyn and you protected him from further harm. You and Kellyn are amazing Top Rangers and you're both hard workers as well, the two of you should go relax now, thank you for telling me about that Ranger, I'll have the Area Rangers be on the lookout for his friends as well. Marcus informed me of your two additional Pokémon that are accompanying the two of you even though they used their Poké Assists, the fact that they didn't get released means that they bonded with the both of you. Will you and Kellyn have Vulpix and Raichu as official Ranger Union Pokémon? They'll still technically belong to you, but they'll be working to help us out whenever you guys are out of the Ranger Union, such as if there's a power outage. There's a Pokémon Training room on the first floor that all of your Pokémon can stay in to rest and do some exercise when the two of you aren't on missions." Chairperson Erma said.

"I think having them in the Pokémon Training room will be best since they can also help out the Ranger Union! What do you think, Luana?" I said.

"That's a great idea, would you like to work for the Ranger Union, Vulpix and Raichu?" Luana said as our Pokémon happily jumped up and down.

"Wonderful, let me get some scarves for them to wear." Chairperson Erma said with a smile as she went downstairs and shortly came back up with two red scarves that had the Ranger Union logo on it, giving them to Luana and I so we can put them on Raichu and Vulpix.

"Thanks Chairperson Erma, we'll put these on Vulpix and Raichu once we head downstairs!" Luana and I said.

"No worries dearies, I'll keep you two updated if any Area Rangers find that Ranger who assaulted Kellyn! If there's anything else, I'll let the both of you know, enjoy yourselves!" Chairperson Erma said as she waved.

"Great, thank you for the help, hopefully his two other friends don't try to hurt us or any other Rangers." We said as we waved back and proceeded to go downstairs with our Pokémon.

When we reached the first floor, we saw that the lobby was back to normal as the receptionists finished their meeting and as we walked through the lobby, Luana and I noticed the room that we usually see, the one reserved for Top Rangers and their Pokémon. As we entered, the room was much larger than I initially thought and while there were no Pokémon, there was a large counter and a lot of activities for Pokémon to do, such as running exercises and stamina exercises, as well as areas for Pokémon to use their attacks to improve their Poké Assists.

"The four of you will have lots of time to train and play, I know that Vulpix and Raichu will do great work helping out the Ranger Union when we're on missions with Pachirisu and Buneary." I said as I wrapped the scarf around Vulpix, which made it happy as it started to jump around the room.

"That's right! Vulpix, you look great in that scarf! Kellyn and I know that you'll both do great at the Ranger Union, let's see how the scarf looks on Raichu!" Luana said as she wrapped the scarf around Raichu, making it run around with joy as Pachirisu and Buneary started playing with them.

"The four of them get along so well, that makes me happy to see. Do you want to head to the cafeteria for some food after we get our Pokémon their food? I'm kind of hungry, but I'm worried about our Pokémon, I'd like to feed them first, but we don't know where their food is. I think we should look for it, especially since I don't see a worker around here." I said as Luana smiled. We both started looking in some cupboards and looked in quite a couple of them, unfortunately, we couldn't find any food. As Luana and I were about to look through some more cupboards, we heard a light knock on the counter which made us turn around and we both grinned as we recognized Ben!

"Kellyn, Luana, it's great to see you guys! After I told Wendy and Sven everything that I knew about Team Dim Sun, which wasn't very much, Chairperson Erma hired me to work here! I'll go ahead and bring the Pokémon food, just a moment." Ben said as he went towards the back and came back to the counter with a bag of Pokémon food.

"Hello Ben, it's nice to see you! We're happy you're able to work for the Ranger Union. By the way, where's Betty, is she with you?" Luana said.

"Hello Luana, hi Kellyn! That's correct, I'm right here!" Betty said as she popped out from behind the counter.

Betty got four bowls and placed them on the counter while Ben took out some Pokémon food and put the bowls on the ground for our Pokémon which they all happily started eating.

"Hi Betty, it's great to see you, the both of you look much happier compared to before!" I said, happy that Ben and Betty wouldn't have to deal with those admins from Team Dim Sun.

"It's great to see you guys as well, Ben and I always wanted to help Pokémon but we were never allowed to do so, instead, we were ordered to hurt them. Since we didn't enjoy doing it, Ben and I decided that when we went to Almia Castle to control more Pokémon, we would just look for anything to sell instead. We're happy that the Ranger Union let us work here and it's great that all Ben and I have to do is make sure your Pokémon are fed and that they're exercising." Betty said enthusiastically.

"I understand what you mean, we're glad that you and Ben are finally able to help out Pokémon! We'd like to drop off all of our Pokémon with you guys, if that's okay." I said as Luana and I patted our Pokémon on their heads.

"Of course you guys can do that, we'll keep them fed and help them with their training!" Ben said.

"Thanks Ben and Betty, we'll be heading to our room for a bit. If you two need anything, let us know! Bye!" Luana said as we shook our hands with Ben and Betty.

"Don't worry guys, we will. Bye!" Betty said as we left the Pokémon Training room and entered our room.

"Luana, Sven and Wendy aren't back from Boyle Volcano, do you think they're okay? I know that they're Top Rangers and they're both very dedicated, but I'm worried about them. Maybe we should one of the Top Operators about their status." I said as I wringed my hands.

"That's a good idea Kellyn, even though Sven and Wendy know what they're doing, at the same time, Boyle Volcano is still one of the most dangerous places in Almia. People have supposedly seen a territorial Charizard there and if Wendy or Sven encountered it, it would be difficult to calm down. Let's ask a Top Operator to see if they know how they're doing." Luana said as she intertwined our hands, which made me relax.

Afterwards, Luana and I went outside and went up to the third floor, looking around, we saw that there weren't any Top Mechanics anymore, as they all fixed whatever they had to, however, I did see two Operators sitting down, one male and one female. As Luana and I went a little closer to them, we saw the male Operator, who had brown hair and was talking with his coworker, who was fixing her black hair, about two Rangers.

"Linda, I heard that Kellyn and Luana were able to get the Blue Gem! I wanted to congratulate them on their hard work but I was told that they were exhausted from all the walking they had to do. Those two are really great Top Rangers, they handled that Froslass and Lucario with ease! However, I'm wondering where Sven and Wendy are, they haven't gotten back yet or picked up their Stylers." The Top Operator whispered.

"I know Marcus, they're really awesome at capturing Pokémon. I think that they're both very accomplished Rangers, most of the Ranger Union appreciates them! As for Sven and Wendy, they could be on their way back already." Linda said in a hushed tone as we slowly approached them closer.

"Excuse me, we're sorry to bother the two of you. My name is Kellyn and this is Luana, it's great to meet you Marcus, you as well Linda. Luana and I wanted to thank you for help in Almia Castle, we really appreciate it. We also wanted to ask about two Top Rangers, Sven and Wendy, we're concerned for their safety as they haven't come back yet and we don't know if they're hurt or not." I said as I started to hyperventilate, though Luana put her hands on my shoulders which made me relax.

"It's okay Kellyn, take deep breaths. Marcus, Linda, do either of you have any information on them? As you both know, they made their way to Boyle Volcano hours ago in order to get the Red Gem." Luana said.

"It's nice to meet you, Kellyn and Luana. As for Sven and Wendy, we don't know why they haven't come back yet but I think they're already on their way to the Ranger Union." Linda said as Marcus started looking around on the second screen.

"Hi Kellyn, hi Luana, I'm glad to meet the both of you! I was able to find out that Sven and Wendy's Stylers last location was at the Boyle Volcano, they were in a room that is said to be close to where the Red Gem is. If Team Dim Sun is still in Boyle Volcano and set up a base even after the whole cargo ship problem and managed to stay hidden, Wendy and Sven are in trouble!" Marcus said.

"We should tell Chairperson Erma right away!" I said as Luana and I ran to the Tree of Harmony, noticing Chairperson Erma was there as usual, we ran up to her.

"Chairperson Erma, we're sorry to bother you and we know that you wanted us to rest, but Luana and I were informed that Sven and Wendy are possibly kidnapped after heading into Boyle Volcano, there's the chance that Team Dim Sun might still be lingering around there. We would like to go to Boyle Volcano to help our friends!" I said.

"Dearies, I know the both of you are concerned about Sven and Wendy, but they're Top Rangers and even if they are captured, the two of you have to get your energy back. I know the two of you got plenty of rest, but you two need to recover from how cold Almia Castle was, even with those jackets, the two of you could have gotten frostbite. Your health is important, if the both of you went to Boyle Volcano without proper rest, the both of you could collapse! Please Kellyn, please Luana, I know that you two are worried, but your health is just as important as theirs." Chairperson Erma said.

"We…we understand Chairperson Erma, we'll go rest and then tomorrow, we'll go to Boyle Island to look for Wendy and Sven, is that okay?" Luana and I said as we looked sadly at each other.

"Yes, Kellyn and Luana, I assure the both of you that if there's any update on Sven and Wendy's situation, I'll let you two know. Please don't strain yourselves!" Chairperson Erma said as Luana and I solemnly nodded and went to the third floor.

We walked downstairs, trying to go to bed as soon as possible, so that we can hurry and help our two friends. We didn't even feel like eating because of how distressed we were. As Luana and I were about to reach the staircase, Marcus saw us and ran over.

"Hi guys, I know that you two seem rather sad, but I know something that'll cheer you guys up! I was finally able to get a hold of Wendy and Sven just now! They're okay but they just weren't able to hear their Stylers at all in the depths of the volcano. They were able to get the Red Gem and they say that they'll be here by nightfall!" Marcus said excitedly.

"Great, as you could tell, we were really concerned over their wellbeing, Luana and I thought they got seriously hurt. We'll let Chairperson Erma know and then we'll be able to get some food and then rest peacefully knowing that they're okay. Thanks Marcus!" I said as Luana and I went back upstairs.

"Chairperson Erma, great news! Marcus just informed us that Sven and Wendy are okay, they were also able to get the Red Gem and they'll be here before today is over! Luana and I are going to get some food and relax now." I said happily.

"That's wonderful dearies, I'm glad that they're okay. With how efficient the four of you are, we already have one Gem and once Wendy and Sven reach the Ranger Union, we'll have two of them in our possession! Sven and Wendy are going to be so happy to get a Ranger Rank up once they come back!" Chairperson Erma said with a smile as she waved, Luana and I waved back to her and went downstairs to the second floor.

"Hmm, Luana, I have an idea. How about we go see if there's any grocery stores or markets in Pueltown? You know I have to try your cooking!" I said as I winked at Luana, causing her to blush.

"That's an awesome idea, Pueltown has a couple of markets that we can buy some ingredients at, however, they tend to change their location and go to different towns. If I'm cooking though, you have to do the same! Let's head to Pueltown!" Luana said as we made our way out of the Ranger Union and walked to Pueltown, admiring the beautiful scenery and pretty flowers along the way.

As we reached Pueltown, we noticed a small vegetable market right away, it was close to the café that Sven and Wendy took us to. As Luana and I walked up to it, we saw that they had lettuce, bread, Miltank cheese, potatoes, carrots, water and rice.

"Luana, do you think we should get some potatoes and carrots along with some rice? Maybe you could cook this time? I wouldn't want to end up cooking the food and ruining it." I said, feeling a bit down, though Luana quickly made me feel better when she put her arm around my shoulder.

"I understand what you mean, Kellyn, but you thought you weren't that good at dancing and you were! Let's get some vegetables!" Luana said as she smiled at me.

"Hello there, welcome! If you two see anything you both like, please put it in a bag and take however much you need." The market owner said as Luana got a bag of rice, potatoes, carrots and a container of water.

"Hi, we'll be buying these items, how much is it?" Luana said.

"Let's see, that's a bag of rice, twenty potatoes and carrots and a container of water. That will be seven hundred Pokédollars please!" The market owner said.

"Here you go, that's all we'll be getting today. Thank you, bye!" Luana said.

"Thank you, enjoy the vegetables!" The market owner said as we waved and walked out of Pueltown and Altru Park.

Luana and I started walking through Union Road, enjoying each other's company.

"Luana, you're not going to be cooking that all at once, are you?" I said as we started walking up to the Ranger Union's entrance.

"Hmm, that does sound great, it would be a lot of food though, so I'll just do a small portion this time." Luana said.

As we entered our room and headed to the back, Luana and I put everything on the counter, after that, Luana opened one of the cabinets and was relieved that there were pots and plates already inside as she got some tap water from the sink and put the water on the stove so it could boil, while I got out two plates. as Luana finished cutting up the carrots, I looked in the cabinets for a peeler and a strainer and was able to find both of them quickly. Afterwards, I got some potatoes and peeled them, while Luana cut them in half. As I looked around the counter for forks or spoons, I saw a small container that was filled with them in the corner as I took two spoons.

When the water came to a boil, Luana put in half the bag of rice and after a few minutes, it was finished. Luana went ahead and strained them while I got some more water for the carrots and potatoes and within no time, the carrots and potatoes were finished and after Luana strained them, I took the two plates and put the rice on while Luana put the potatoes and carrots on top as we both sat down to eat, taking two bottles of water with us.

"This looks good, nice work Kellyn!" Luana said.

"We both did great work Luana, partners always work together!" I said as I started to eat.

Within no time, Luana and I finished our food as we both got up and cleaned the dishes, afterwards, we didn't have to worry about putting anything in the fridge as we both finished all of the food we prepared. I decided to sit down on the love cushion while Luana went to the bathroom and didn't realize how tired I was until I felt my eyes closing the minute I sat down.

After some time, I woke up and I noticed that there was an Altaria blanket over me with a pillow behind my head. I was about to get up to stretch but then I found myself unable to move, as I looked over to my left, I saw that Luana was peacefully sleeping next to me, with her arm was wrapped around my shoulder. I was happy that she finally decided to get some rest as I went back to sleep. Eventually, I woke up feeling much more refreshed than before, I went ahead and glanced at my Styler, noticing the time saying that it was 8:10 P.M. while Luana started to wake up as well. I gave her a kiss on the cheek, making her blush as she was rubbing her eyelids.

"Hi Kellyn, did you have a good sleep? I know I did." Luana said as she smiled at me.

"I definitely did! Do you think Sven and Wendy are back by now? It's a little bit past 8 o' clock, so maybe they'll be here soon if they aren't already. Do you want to go ask Marcus?" I said.

"They might be back by now but I'm not too sure, before we go ask Marcus, I have a present for you, do you mind closing your eyes?" Luana said with a smirk as I happily did so.

After a few seconds, I felt Luana kiss me on the lips which made my face feel hot yet ecstatic as Luana and I continued to kiss for a while, though eventually we both had to get some air as my face felt hotter than before and Luana's face was redder than a Tamato berry.

"That was amazing, I figured when you said you had a present for me, you meant a kiss, but that was something!" I said.

"Haha, you probably didn't expect me to would kiss you so passionately, did you?" Luana said as she winked at me.

"I didn't, but I definitely enjoyed kissing you a lot!" I said as Luana and I got up and exited our room. We decided to head up to the third floor because even if Sven or Wendy did come back by now, they would most likely be asleep in their room from exhaustion, so we didn't want to wake them up and we didn't want to call Marcus in case he was helping another Ranger.

When Luana and I reached the third floor, we saw that Marcus was the only Top Operator there as he was filing away from paperwork. As we approached him, he heard us and turned around, a smile on his face.

"Kellyn, Luana, good to see you guys! Sven and Wendy got back about an hour or so ago, they're resting right now in their room. As you both can imagine, they were able to get the Red Gem as they battled several Team Dim Sun grunts and a member of Sinis Trio, they didn't get his name though. They also faced off against a Heatran which gave them a lot of trouble!" Marcus said excitedly.

"Good, we're glad they're back safe, Luana and I were quite worried about them. We're happy they got the Red Gem as well. We'll be headed to bed Marcus, good night!" I said.

"I know, the two of you really looked distraught earlier, good night guys!" Marcus said as we walked back to our room.

When we entered, I got my pajamas from the dresser and went into the bathroom and changed clothes. When I finished doing my usual stuff such as brushing my teeth and showering, I was about to head to the bed as I noticed that the lights were already off as I saw Luana was already asleep. I quickly climbed into bed so I wouldn't disturb her and when I was preparing to fall asleep, I felt a hand creep up to my shoulder, making me tremble slightly as I closed my eyes in fear. As I slowly turned to where the hand came from and opened my eyes, I saw that it was Luana with a big grin on her face.


	16. Chapter 16: Quests and Kellyn's family

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Pokemon or the Pokemon Ranger series. This chapter is extra fluff, so enjoy!**

Chapter 16: Quests and Kellyn's family

"L-Luana?! That was you?! You scared me! I thought that a Haunter was going to attack me!" I said.

"Hahah, Kellyn, you should have seen how terrified you looked! I got you good!" Luana said as she started to snicker.

"I must have looked really scared, didn't I? Nice one Luana, you got me pretty good!" I said as I started to laugh with Luana. After a short while, we eventually stopped laughing as we were both able to fall asleep, our hands intertwined.

The next morning, I woke up feeling very refreshed. I checked my Styler and saw that it was 10:29 A.M., I went to the bathroom and changed off from my pajamas into my Ranger uniform, afterwards, I brushed my teeth like usual and then exited the bathroom, as I noticed Luana was already dressed as she quickly headed into the bathroom for a few minutes and then came back out.

"Good morning Kellyn, did you have a good rest? I certainly did! Are you ready to see if Sven and Wendy are awake yet?" Luana said.

"Good morning Luana, I had a good rest considering how I had to calm down after you scared me! We can definitely go see how Sven and Wendy are doing!" I said as Luana giggled.

We headed out of our room and went over to Sven and Wendy's door and squeezed their Eevee toy, after waiting for only a minute or so, the door opened and we saw Sven and Wendy, their faces lighting up once they saw us.

"Sven! Wendy! You guys are back!" We said as we both hugged Sven and Wendy, excited to see them.

"That's right, we are! Did you two miss us?" Sven said.

"Of course we did, we were so worried about the two of you, Luana and I thought you guys got hurt!" I said.

"I can understand why you guys were worried, Boyle Volcano really is dangerous, we even saw a terrifying Charizard there, it chased after us until we were able to get a Drifloon to hit it with a Shadow Ball as we went to another floor, away from its territory. We didn't even want to capture it, that Pokémon was scary." Wendy said as she started to tremble, though she relaxed once Sven hugged her.

"Kellyn, you know if we ever go back to Boyle Volcano, we're going to capture that Charizard!" Luana said with a smirk as Sven and Wendy's eyes grew large.

"Don't try capturing that Pokémon, that was one of the most dangerous ones I've seen considering how long it chased us until we got out of its territory." Sven said with a shiver.

"That Pokémon does sound scary, but Luana and I have faced stronger Pokémon!" I said with a smile.

"If you two do try to catch it, be careful. Since Wendy and I are hungry and it's a bit early, do you guys want to get some breakfast?" Sven said.

"Breakfast sounds like a great idea, we're ready when you are!" Luana said as we all headed up to the cafeteria instead.

As we entered, Sven and Wendy got their plates and filled it with their breakfast which was three pancakes, sliced berries and Miltank milk. Luana and I got our plates and did the same, except we got ten pancakes, sliced berries, chopped peppers, toast and Miltank milk. As we all sat down, Sven and Wendy looked at each other in surprise.

"T-ten pancakes?! You two really do love to eat!" Sven said, surprised.

"I…I'm surprised, you guys eat a lot for breakfast, but ten pancakes, plus peppers, berries and toast?!" Wendy said.

"I know we have serious appetites, but you guys should know that we both love food! Especially breakfast, it's extremely important!" I said with a grin.

"That's right, Kellyn and I just love to eat! At the same time though, watching how stunned you guys look each time we eat is hilarious!" Luana said as she smiled at me.

Sven and Wendy looked at us as Luana and I finished our food in a few minutes, after we finished our food, we looked concerned for them as they struggled to eat their food.

"Sven? Wendy? Are you guys okay? Did the amount of food we just eat make you guys lose your appetite?" I said.

"I hope they're okay, the both of them don't look eager to eat." Luana said.

"No, our appetites are fine. It's just that when we were at the Boyle Volcano where that Charizard was, it almost got to us, it was…scary. I've never seen such a ferocious Pokémon." Sven said with a shiver as Wendy hugged him.

"Y-yeah, it looked like it was going to eat us. I never want to go back there." Wendy said.

Seeing our two friends look so distraught saddened us, so Luana and I got up from our chairs and gave them the biggest hugs we could. At first, they were a bit surprised, but then they hugged us back and after a short while, we broke free from the hug as we sat back down. Sven and Wendy's faces went from scared to overjoyed as we smiled at them.

"T-thanks for the hug, we needed that." Sven and Wendy said as they started to relax and eat their food.

"No problem guys, we're here to help!" Luana said with a grin as Sven and Wendy finished off their food. We all exited the cafeteria and headed up to the Tree of Harmony, passing by the Operators' Room as we saw that oddly enough, neither Marcus or Linda were there.

As we reached the top floor, we noticed Chairperson Erma examining the Blue Gem while the Red Gem was covered with a glass dome. When we went up to Chairperson Erma, she heard as and turned around, a smile on her face.

"Hello dearies, good morning, I hope you all had a good rest. Now that we have two of the three gems needed, I need Sven and Wendy to help any citizens, while Kellyn and Luana will find Professor Hastings, he's an old friend of mine who was doing some research in the Obilivia and Fiore regions. He should be around Pueltown but with how impatient he is, he's probably already here! I also want to say congratulations to Sven and Wendy, wonderful work on finding the Red Gem! Because of your great work, the two of you are being promoted to Ranger Rank 6! The four of you can go whenever you're ready." Chairperson Erma said as we all clapped for Sven and Wendy, shortly afterwards, we all went to do our tasks.

As we headed out the door and started to walk along Union Road, I called out to Wendy and Sven, who were about to head into a log cabin.

"If you guys need anything, just let us know and we'll come running!" I said.

"Thanks Kellyn, we appreciate that, good luck finding Professor Hastings!" Sven said as he and Wendy were talking to a citizen.

Luana and I continued to Pueltown and we looked all over for Professor Hastings, we eventually went to Altru Tower which we couldn't enter originally since they were still doing construction, however, as we looked up at the building, we saw that construction was finished…though something about the building seemed odd, making me shiver.

"This building gives you the creeps too, huh Kellyn?" Luana said.

"It does, this building feels off, especially when looking at it up close." I said, wondering why they chose such a bleak color scheme.

As we were talking with the two security guards in front and asking them about the building, we noticed an elderly man exiting the building with a lab coat on, we said goodbye to the security guards as they waved and went back inside the building. Upon seeing the man closer, we knew this man had to be Professor Hastings.

"Excuse me sir, you're Professor Hastings, correct? We're Kellyn and Luana, it's wonderful to meet you." I said.

"Hello there Kellyn, hello Luana! I am indeed Professor Hastings, it's nice to meet you too! I decided to look at Altru Tower as I heard that it was finally completed. Before I left to do research in Fiore and Oblivia, the building was about halfway complete! It looks rather nice now that it's finished, I take it that you two are here to bring me to the Ranger Union?" Professor Hastings said.

"That's right, we are! Let's head back to the Ranger Union!" Luana said as we all started jogging back to the Ranger Union. Within a few minutes, we were by the entrance as we headed inside.

"You two are quite fast! That's good for me, all the other Rangers in Fiore and Obilivia were very slow, but you two were quite a bit faster than me! Hahah!" Professor Hastings said with a laugh as we all headed up to the Tree of Harmony.

"Hastings, great to see you! It's been a while, how was your research in Oblivia and Fiore?" Chairperson Erma said.

"Hello Erma, nice to see you again, the research was very productive and helpful as I was able to obtain information on several Pokémon such as their habitats and what areas they frequent the most as well as their behaviors when interacting with each other. I'll have to show them to our two researchers, Vatona and Nage." Professor Hastings said.

"That sounds amazing, I hope all of the Rangers can read it after Vatona and Nage do! As for the Gems, as you can see, we already have two of them, we only need one more in order to effectively make the small Shadow Crystals harmless!" Chairperson Erma said as she smiled.

"I'll make sure to let them! Considering that there are already two Gems obtained, that's wonderful! The next gem is in Hippowdon Ruins, we need to get a layout of the place, I'll contact someone and see to it." Professor Hastings said.

"Sounds like a great idea, can we go to Hippowdon Ruins to get the Yellow Gem then?" I said, surprised.

"While the two of you are great Rangers based on what I've head, it's still much too dangerous to go there Kellyn! We'll have an experienced explorer go inside of the Ruins to make a map." Professor Hastings said.

"I understand, hopefully we can go there and see Hippowdon Ruins ourselves. I always used to go near there as a kid, it was always so amazing to look at!" Luana said.

"Wonderful! When we get the three gems together, we'll be able to use that small Shadow Crystal that Sven picked up so it won't be harmful to any Pokémon! Kellyn, Luana, since the two of you already helped Professor Hastings get here and the two of you have been working very hard, especially recently, you're both going to get the rest of the day off. Since it's only 2:38 P.M, the both of you can relax!" Chairperson Erma said with a smile.

"Thank you Chairperson Erma, we appreciate it!" Luana said as we both headed down to the Pokémon Training Room, excited to see our Pokémon as we entered the room.

"Hello Ben and Betty, it's good to see you guys, how are our Pokémon doing?" Luana said.

"Hello Kellyn, hi Luana, nice to see the both of you! Your Pokémon all finished their target training and we gave them some medicine so they can have more energy to keep up with you guys, while also helping them get a better sleep!" Ben said.

"That's amazing, thanks for the great work you guys are doing! Is there anything they need to improve on, such as speed or stamina?" I said.

"Hello Kellyn and Luana! I was just filing away some paperwork, as for your Pokémon, they don't need to train on anything. Their stamina and speed are great, and they love to eat as well, they're great Pokémon." Betty said.

"Perfect, thanks for letting us know. If there's anything you guys need, let us know! Bye guys!" Luana said as we headed out of the Ranger Union.

Luana and I walked through Union Road and went to Pueltown, heading from the town to reach Altru Tower. We were eager to enter since we found out the construction was finished, though both of us felt nervous when we went to the entrance and headed inside. Upon entering, we saw a rather elegant lobby with a purple carpet going from the door to the elevator, while I noticed some displays on oil field equipment, such as drills and excavation tools from where I was.

"Hello Rangers, welcome to Altru Tower! Please enjoy yourselves as you explore our lovely lobby!" The receptionist said as a boy was trying to talk to her.

"Thank you!" We said as we looked around.

Luana and I were rather excited, especially myself since I could see the drilling tools in detail. I looked at all of them intently, fascinated by how even the simplistic ones could be used to dig for oil, I must have had a silly expression on my face since Luana giggled.

"Hm? What happened? Did you just remember a funny joke?" I said, grinning slightly.

"No, you just looked so adorable looking at these amazing tools. They're nice to look at, it's surprising how Altru Inc. went from drilling oil to creating alternative energy in order to help out the Almia, Fiore and Oblivia regions." Luana said.

"I know, I find it really interesting with how they're trying to help preserve nature, that's something admirable. However, this building…it makes me feel uneasy, what about you?" I whispered.

"I agree, I don't feel safe in this building, we can check out those portraits over there and quickly leave." Luana whispered as we hastily went over to the three portraits by the wall.

"Hello Rangers! Welcome to Altru Tower, this beautiful building was created by Altru Inc.! These portraits on the wall are of the presidents that we've had over the years. The one closest to the elevator is Doyle Hall, a farmer who discovered oil and ended up founding Altru Inc. This next man is Brighton Hall, its unknown where he currently is, but he helped trademark Altru and created ways to help out Pokémon. Our current president is this man, Blake Hall, he focuses on different ways to protect nature and Pokémon by using alternative energy methods." The employee happily said.

We looked at each of the portraits as the woman explained each of the presidents. The first man, Doyle Hall, had a kind expression and a big grin on his face, while the second man, Brighton Hall, had a very distinguished suit and while his expression was serious, he still had a small smile. The current president, Blake Hall's portrait made me feel…uneasy, he had a grimace on his face as he wore a black suit jacket and a purple dress shirt.

"Thank you for your explanation! We enjoyed getting to know a little bit about Altru Inc. and its presidents!" Luana said.

"You're both very welcome, we always love having Rangers over to visit!" The employee said as she smiled and went to help another worker with some boxes.

Luana and I were about to call Sven and Wendy to see if they're okay and if they wanted us to help them, when we heard the elevator door open. Shortly afterwards, a short man wearing a purple suit with white pinstripes, green hair and a green mustache came out of the elevator as he constantly wringed his hands.

"Hee hee, boss, did you fall asleep again?" The green haired man said as Blake Hall stepped out the elevator.

"Of course I have Wheeler, I've been falling asleep more and more lately because of how much time and research I am dedicating towards making Almia, Fiore and Oblivia a more energy efficient place." Blake Hall said.

"I know sir, you've been very hard at work, your employees love you for that." Wheeler said as Blake Hall turned to us.

"Ah, Rangers are here, hello there. It's a pleasure to meet the two of you! As I'm sure you both know, my name is Blake Hall. I must get back to work, but I thank the both of you for coming." Blake Hall said.

"Hello there Mr. Hall, it's nice to meet you, thank you for all you and your workers are doing for Almia and the neighboring regions." I said as I felt like retching while speaking to this man, something about him was…suspicious though I didn't want to seem rude.

"The same goes for me too, you and your company have done great work!" Luana said sheepishly.

"Thank you Rangers, I appreciate your kind words, keep Almia safe! Attention employees, remember to always work hard, we need to make places around the world, starting with Almia, a better place. for everyone, people and Pokemon!" Blake Hall said as all the employees cheered.

"Great speech boss, please excuse us, we must get back to work. Thanks for coming by, Rangers!" Wheeler said as he and Blake Hall both went in the escalator.

Luana and I decided to leave as well, as we headed back to Pueltown, I decided it would be best if we were to call Sven and Wendy so we can go with them. I looked through my Styler to find Sven and was able to do so right away, calling Sven as he promptly answered after a few rings.

"Hello Kellyn, hi Luana! We just finished helping out some citizens, would you two like to tag along with us? We're in Pueltown now, by the Ranger Depot." Sven said cheerfully.

"Hi Sven, hello Wendy! We'll be more than happy to join you guys, Luana and I are on our way!" I said as Luana and I ran over to the Ranger Depot, which was only a few minutes away, as we got there, we saw Sven shyly give Wendy a red rose as she blushed and put the rose in her hair, giving Sven a kiss on the cheek. Sven noticed us and waved us over as we jogged over to them, more than eager to see our friends.

"Hi guys, you both reached rather quickly! We just finished helping an elderly man find his lost Growlithe, he was so happy to get it back! However, it didn't count as an official Ranger Union quest, so we didn't get any power up data for our Stylers. Even though we asked you guys if you wanted to tag along with us, we'll go wherever you guys are going since we haven't been to other areas for a while aside from Boyle Volcano and a small path by the Chroma Ruins." Sven said.

"We certainly did! I'm glad you guys were able to help him find his Growlithe! It's okay that it didn't count as an official Ranger Union quest, you'll both be able to get your Stylers to take less damage from attacks soon once more quests are done! Where would you like to go do some quests at, Luana?" I said happily.

"That's right Kellyn! We're always eager to do some quests, even though we were told to have the rest of the day off, I was thinking of going to see if there are any quests in Vientown that needed to be done! Would you guys like to go there?" Luana said.

"Vientown? I haven't been there for a while, I always loved going by the beach!" Wendy said, which made me and Luana a bit restless.

"What's wrong guys? I thought the both of you love the beach!" Sven said, surprised.

"W-we do, just…don't go there at night, I'm not sure if you guys heard about it but a Ranger wearing a mask…attacked us after he insulted Luana. We still have no idea who it was, which is the scary part." I said, fearful that the Ranger might still be around Nabiki beach.

"We understand, Sven and I actually heard about it, we didn't know that it was you two who got attacked. We're so sorry that happened to you guys. We'll still head to the beach, but we'll leave before nightfall. Don't worry guys, let's go to Vientown!" Wendy said as we made our way to Vientown after walking for about twenty minutes.

"Wow, Vientown looks great as always, let's see what quests we need to do!" I said as we all checked our Stylers.

"Hmm, it says here that there are three quests in Vientown that Kellyn and I have to do, while you and Wendy have two quests to do. They're also considered official Ranger Union quests as well which is an added bonus." Luana said.

"Two quests? Awesome, let's go see where to go Wendy!" Sven said as he grabbed Wendy's hand and went to Big Bertha's farm.

"Those two are great together, just like us! Are you ready to do some quests Luana?" I said as Luana blushed slightly.

"That's right, we are awesome together! I'm prepared to do some quests, how about we do the quest for Jen, the Operator? The quest information says that some things around the Ranger base have been going missing, such as Elaine's wrench, Ollie's socks and Barlow's Styler. Some of the items end up being found in random places throughout the base." Luana said.

"That sounds like fun, let's go help Jen out!" I said as we both went inside the Ranger base, upon entering, we saw that everyone was there as they turned to us.

"Luana, Kellyn, it's good to see you guys!" Elaine and Ollie said.

"Hello guys, you both look great in those uniforms!" Crawford said.

"Hi guys, are you two the ones who accepted my quest?" Jen said.

"Hello everyone, it's great to see you. Thanks Crawford, I agree, Kellyn does look great in his uniform. That's correct Jen, we're here to help!" Luana said.

"Kellyn, Luana! I'm so glad to see you! I suspect it's a Pokémon pranking us, but since you two are the ones helping us, you'll both be able to get the job done!" Barlow said.

"It's nice to see you too Barlow, if it is a Pokémon, we'll capture it so it doesn't cause you guys anymore trouble!" I said as Luana and I headed into the sleeping quarters.

Luana and I looked around to see if we could notice anything suspicious and we noticed the pillow on Crawford's bed starting to move around as we saw pillows being made into a pile on Crawford's bed. I heard cackling as we both saw a Haunter appear and since it was distracted with moving the pillow around, I quickly made loops around it, capturing it within no time. While the Haunter felt bad at first, it realized that we weren't upset at it. I released it quickly and fixed the pillows back to where they went as the happy Haunter went on its way as we both exited the sleeping area, the quest being completed quickly.

"Quest complete! You were right Barlow, it was a Pokémon, more specifically, a Haunter. It didn't mean any harm though and only made a little pile of pillows on Crawford's bed." I said as Luana and I snickered.

"Wow, you two are fast! Then again, that's why you guys are Top Rangers!" Jen said as Luana's Styler started to ring.

"Luana, Kellyn, great work you two. I'll be giving you guys your Power Up data now. I'm surprised that you two are doing quests on your day off, but that's some amazing work ethic from amazing Top Rangers! Bye!" Marcus said.

"Thank you Marcus, we always love to help whenever we can. Bye!" We said as our Stylers did a simple ring again, indicating that we both received the Power Up data that lessened damage from Dragon attacks by three, I also noticed that it was 5:20 P.M and that we needed quite a few more Power Ups, at least twenty-seven more.

"Good work guys, when you two are all finished with your quests, come back, we'll have some milk pudding for you guys!" Barlow said with a smile.

"Thanks guys, now I can get back to fixing things again!" Elaine said as Ollie hugged her.

"Thank you Kellyn, thanks Luana, I'll be taking a nap, I'm exhausted because of how much that Haunter messed with our stuff. It was great to see you guys!" Crawford said as went into the sleeping quarters.

"We'll be back, don't you worry guys! Bye for now!" Luana said as we both exited the Ranger base.

"Awesome, one quest down, two more to go! The next one that we can do is help…my mother with a quest?!" I said, blushing furiously as Luana did the same.

"That sounds like a great quest! Ready to go when you are!" Luana said as she shyly started walking with me, our arms locked as we walked to Chicole Village, which only took a few minutes. As I knocked on the door, I heard some rummaging inside and within a few seconds, the door opened as I saw my mom with a blue dress and a white apron.


	17. Chapter 17: Trouble on Union Road

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Pokemon!**

Chapter 17: Trouble on Union Road

"Hello Kellyn, you're here to help with my quest? Ah and you brought your girlfriend with you! Wonderful, Kellyn has told me so much about you!" Mom said as she gave me a hug, shortly afterwards, we both entered the house.

"Hello Mrs. Hajime, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Luana said as she shook my mom's hand.

"Hi mom, it's always good to see you, it's been difficult dealing with Team Dim Sun so I'm sorry that I wasn't able to come visit and see how you were, I've only been able to call you just before you headed to sleep. Where's dad and Rina?" I said.

"It's always nice to see you too, son. You don't have to apologize, I know how much trouble Team Dim Sun has been, it's all over the news. People are really frightened of them, but the citizens really appreciate the hard work the Rangers are doing. Dad and Rina are out shopping, but they should be back shortly. As for your quest, it's simple, all you have to do is read the list on the fridge, it's the recipe for vegetable soup and a small side dish! I figured that since I had today off from work at Pueltown's clinic, I would make some food for everyone." Mom cheerfully said.

"That's all? I like this quest already, hopefully dad and Rina come soon, I haven't seen them in a while. As for the list of ingredients, it says here to take some onions, potatoes and carrots and dice them up into quarter pieces. The side dish requires you to take eight whole red bell peppers and simply remove the tops of them, making sure to scoop out the seeds and membranes, filling the peppers with cheese and Oran berry slices. After that, set the oven for 350 degrees and put the peppers in the oven for approximately fifteen minutes. And…that's it! Quest Complete!" I said as Luana gave me a high five.

"Thanks sweetheart, the food should be ready soon, I already finished the rice so everything else won't take long!" Mom said as she started to chop up the vegetables and put them in the boiling pot. A few moments later, my Styler started to ring as I heard the rain pouring outside.

"Hello Kellyn, I see you completed your mother's quest. Good work! I'll transmit your Power Up data now, enjoy having dinner with Kellyn's family, Luana. Bye guys!" Marcus said.

"Thanks Marcus, bye!" We said as we received our Power Up data for decreasing damage by Water type attacks by three, leaving only twenty-six more quests to go!

As Luana and I sat down, I could see that she was quite nervous, which made me laugh a little, upon hearing me laugh, she couldn't help but giggle.

"What's wrong? You looked really nervous just now, if you didn't start giggling, I would have thought you were about to faint." I said.

"I'm nervous because I'm at your house, though at the same time, I feel happy here, I don't feel scared or uneasy." Luana said.

"I understand why you would feel nervous, it's your first time here! Don't worry though, just relax, my family is very nice." I said calmly, which made Luana smile.

"Kellyn's right, Luana! We won't bite you, Rina might ask a lot of questions but she's an energetic one!" Mom said as she started putting in the peppers.

"Thank you, Mrs. Hajime, I'll do my best to answer them!" Luana said.

Just then, the door started to open as dad and Rina walked inside, both of them were drenched from the rain as they carried some shopping bags.

"Welcome home sweethearts! Oh my, you should both go change your clothing, you'll get sick!" Mom said.

"Hello dear, we're back from the store, we were trying to run home before it started to rain, it's too bad my work uniform got wet, I'll put it in the dryer and it should be good! Welcome home, Kellyn, I see you brought your girlfriend over!" Dad said as we hugged.

"Hi mom! Dad and I got lots of stuff! Hi Kellyn, it's nice to see you! Wow, your girlfriend is so beautiful! Mom always talks about you two!" Rina said as she gave me a big hug and started admiring Luana, making her blush.

"H-hello Mr. Hajime, hi Rina, it's very nice to meet the both of you." Luana said as she nervously shook my dad's hand followed by Rina's hand.

"It's great to meet you too, Luana! Give me a moment, I have to change my clothes and I'll be right back!" Dad said as he went upstairs.

"Oh that's right, I should go do that too, I wouldn't want to get sick!" Rina said as she bolted upstairs.

Mom went ahead and took out five bowls and five plates, placing them on the table as she took out spoons and cups, filling them up with lemonade for us. After a few minutes, the peppers were finished as mom took them out, filling the bowls with delicious soup and putting a pepper on each plate. Rina quickly came back downstairs, followed by dad as he went to talk to mom and kiss her on the cheek.

"I could smell the food from here! I haven't eaten all day!" Rina said as she went to the table, sitting next to me while dad and mom went on the other chairs, facing Luana and I.

"The food looks amazing, thanks Mrs. Hajime!" Luana said.

"I agree, the food always tastes great too, I'm starving!" I said, eager to eat.

"Thanks everyone, let's dig in!" Mom said as we did just that. Luana and I finished our food within minutes, which made my family smile.

"Wow bro, she even eats like you!" Rina said as we all laughed, eventually my family finished their dinner as mom took all the bowls and plates to wash the dishes.

"I should tend to the vegetable farm, it was very nice to meet you, Luana!" Dad said as he shook Luana's hand.

"It was nice to meet you too, Mr. Hajime." Luana said with a smile as Dad went to the vegetable farm.

Rina went upstairs for a little bit after dad left and then quickly came back downstairs with a notebook and pen in her hand.

"Luana! I have some questions to ask you, they're super important!" Rina said as Luana giggled.

"Super important? In that case, you can go ahead and ask me your questions Rina!" Luana said.

"Awesome! So my questions are, how much do you enjoy being a Ranger? Do you two get to fight anyone from Team Dim Sun? What's one of the toughest Pokémon you guys faced? Those are all the questions I have!" Rina said happily.

"Oh wow Rina, those are all really great questions! I really love being a Ranger, there isn't any other job I would want to do, especially considering I have Kellyn as my partner. Even though it's very dangerous, especially dealing with Pokémon that haven't had much contact with people, they might be confused if we intend to cause them any harm. As for fighting any Team Dim Sun grunts, Kellyn and I have fought them a lot recently, most of them are really scary, though us Rangers are doing our best to ruin their evil plans and keeping everyone safe. As for the toughest Pokémon we've faced, I would say that it would have to be a Toxicroak, it was being controlled by the bad guys and it was very dangerous with its mud puddles. Would you say that Toxicroak was one of the toughest Pokémon we faced so far, Kellyn?" Luana said.

"I would say so, it was fast and vicious as it continuously hopped around everywhere. After we captured the Toxicroak, it went back to being a playful Pokémon." I said.

"Oh cool! You guys have all sorts of fun, but some of it sounds really scary, maybe I could work as an Operator!" Rina said, scribbling down in her notebook.

"We do enjoy ourselves, it's an enjoyable job but working as an Operator is much safer. You'll be successful since you're smart just like Kellyn! Do you have any more questions, sweetheart?" Luana said as she smiled and patted Rina on the shoulder.

"Thanks Luana, I think I would enjoy being an Operator very much, especially since I'll be deciding what career I should do before I enroll. Now that I know I'll be an Operator, I just need to apply! I don't have any more questions for now, but thanks for answering the ones I had! I'll go help dad out at the farm. Bye Kellyn, bye Luana!" Rina said as she gave both of us a hug and put her notebook on the table, running outside to help dad.

"Like I said, she's energetic even when considering she's going into Operator School soon, but Rina has always been curious. I'll go help out in the farm as well, when you two are leaving, don't forget to say goodbye!" Mom said as she walked out of the house.

"I told you they're nice, you were so nervous Luana! Thank you for answering Rina's questions, it made her really happy." I said with a smile.

"Your family is really friendly, I felt so welcome being around them! I'm glad that I made your sister happy, she's so adorable! Would you like to do another quest, stay here for a bit, or would you want to head back to the Ranger Union?" Luana said.

I checked my Styler and saw there was one more quest in the area, it was to help out Mr. Woodward for a sign that was destroyed by Nabiki beach because of a fallen tree. I also noticed that it was rather late, which worried me a lot.

"I'm glad they made you feel relaxed! I'd love to stay but we can visit my family more often! As for doing another quest, we have one open to us, the person who needs our help is… Mr. Woodward! The quest information says that a tree destroyed one of Mr. Woodward's signs. Luana…are you sure you want to do this quest now? It's 7:40 P.M. and even though the rain stopped, it still looks like it might continue to rain later on in the evening. What…what if that Ranger who attacked us tries to do it again? Perhaps we could ask Sven and Wendy to join us?" I said, trembling slightly as I remembered the Ranger who assaulted us, though Luana putting her hand on my shoulder quickly made me relax.

"I understand why you're worried, especially since he was able to hurt us before. Asking Sven and Wendy to tag along would be a great idea. Let's give them a call, hopefully they're not doing a quest." Luana said as I looked through my Styler to call Sven and Wendy. After a few rings, they picked up.

"Hi guys, Sven and I just finished our second quest! We're about to head back to the Ranger Union!" Wendy said.

"Hi, that's great that you both finished your second quest! We were hoping if you two can accompany us to Nabiki Beach, it's getting dark and Kellyn and I once got attacked by a Ranger wearing a mask. If you guys need to head back to the Ranger Union, then we can always wait until tomorrow or another time to do the quest." I said.

"I heard about that, that sounds terrifying! We'll be more than happy to tag along with you guys to Nabiki beach. I'll let Sven know, where are you guys right now?" Wendy said.

"We're inside Kellyn's house, we just had dinner with his family." Luana said as she started blushing.

"That's sweet, I hope you two had a good time! Sven and I are on our way to Chicole Village right now! See you soon, guys!" Wendy said as she hanged up.

"Now we'll have our friends helping us out with the quest or the Ranger, we can wait around in Chicole Village until Wendy and Sven arrive!" Luana said happily as we both went to the farm, mom and dad were moving some soil around while Rina was picking some carrots.

"Hi mom, dad and Rina! Luana and I just wanted to say bye before we left as we have to do a quest now, our friends will be coming to Chicole Village in a bit. I'll miss you guys, but I love you all very much." I said as Luana and I gave each of them a hug.

"We'll miss you too sweetheart, whenever you or Luana want to come home and pay us a visit, you're both welcome to do so!" Mom said.

"Don't worry son, we know that you're both dedicated to your work, just like us." Dad said.

"You're both going? That's okay, it was great to see you, big brother and it was nice to meet you, Luana." Rina said.

"We'll pay you guys a visit when we can, don't worry!" Luana said as we waved to my family as they waved back.

As we walked away from the farm, Luana and I walked around Chicole Village, admiring the flowers and the Starly that resting. Soon afterwards, we saw Wendy and Sven walking towards us as we were looking at some roses.

"Hi guys, sorry we're late, it's 7:55 P.M., would you two like to head to Nabiki beach? Wendy and I will go with you guys in case that Ranger tries to attack you guys." Sven said.

"Hello Sven, hi Wendy, we're ready to go to Nabiki beach. I'm a bit nervous but if he tries to attack us, it'll be four versus one!" I said as we all walked to Mr. Woodward's house to start the quest. Within a few minutes, we reached Mr. Woodward's home as he was outside, fixing his door.

"Excuse me Mr. Woodward, we heard about your quest and would like to help you out." I said as Mr. Woodward turned around.

"Hello everyone, it's nice to see you all! Thank you for taking my quest, it won't be too difficult for great Rangers such as yourselves! I'll work on making a new sign once I fix this door!" Mr. Woodward said.

"No problem Mr. Woodward, we'll move that fallen tree!" I said as we all went to Nabiki beach, being cautious the entire way.

We were all looking around us for that Ranger, wondering if he was anywhere near us. There were quite a few trees in the area, meaning that if someone wanted to conceal themselves and attack us, they could do so easily. As we walked over to the fallen tree, we noticed that it was rather sturdy looking.

"Guys, since we don't know where this Ranger could be, let's go into this cave together. The good news is that it isn't dark inside the cave, since there are lights inside. If we find someone suspicious, they wouldn't be able to hide from us." Luana said as we all entered the cave.

"Oh wow, Sven and I haven't been here for a while, it's a good thing they put these lights in!" Wendy said.

"I agree, the lights aren't too bright, so it doesn't bother the Pokémon at all. We just need to find a Pokémon that can cut that tree, it doesn't look like much trouble." I said as we looked around the cave entrance, we saw a Nosepass, some Geodude, which hid once we approached, and a Scyther. I stealthily approached the Scyther and made loops around it, capturing it effortlessly.

"Awesome work Kellyn, now we can get that tree cut!" Luana said as we all exited the cave.

"I'm glad we were able to find a Pokémon that can cut this tree so close to the actual quest! Makes things simpler, okay Scyther, use Cut on that tree!" I said as the Scyther made the tree into five small logs.

"Thanks for the help Scyther, bye!" Luana and I said as the Scyther walked back into the cave.

Soon afterwards, we heard rustling in the nearby bushes and after a few seconds, it stopped. I was paralyzed with fear until Luana started gently shaking me, with Wendy and Sven's faces looking concerned.

"M-maybe it was just a Pokémon?" Sven said, even though he also looked a bit scared.

"It could have been a Pokémon but at the same time, most of the Pokémon around here that don't live in the cave are small, like Starly, Budew and Roselia. They're very friendly and curious, so they would have come out to greet us. Let's get out of here, I feel uneasy." Luana said as we all started to run from the cave back to Vientown.

We quickly reached Mr. Woodward's house and knocked on the door, when he answered, we all went inside his house.

"You guys finished the quest very quickly! Nice work everyone!" Mr. Woodward said as we soon got a call from Marcus.

"Awesome work Kellyn and Luana! I'll transmit your Power Up data, also, I see that Sven and Wendy are with you, I was already informed by them as to the reason, we're still on the lookout for that Area Ranger that attacked you at the Ranger Union, Kellyn, though haven't found him yet. You guys still have the rest of the day off, but when you guys are finished relaxing, come to the Ranger Union for some rest, all four of you are working hard. Bye!" Marcus said as we soon received the data for reducing Electric attacks by three.

"Thanks Marcus, we'll be heading back to the Ranger Union in a little bit. I hope you guys find him soon, bye!" I said as I hanged up the Styler.

"Another Ranger attacked you, Kellyn? I'm sorry that happened to you, I also just finished the sign, so I'll be headed to Nabiki beach to replace it with the old one." Mr. Woodward said as he left his house, though I wasn't going to let him go by himself in case that Ranger from before decided to attack him. As we all left Mr. Woodward's home and walked to Nabiki beach, I realized that the logs were still there.

"Ah, Mr. Woodward, I'm sorry, I forgot to ask you if you wanted the logs to use for the signs you make!" I said as I took two logs, with everyone else taking a log each.

"Don't worry Kellyn, these logs will be quite handy for the wonderful signs I'll be making." Mr. Woodward said.

"Great, do you think these logs would be good to use for your Pokémon sculptures as well?" I said.

"Hmm, these logs are rather sturdy looking, I think they would be good for my sculptures too, perhaps I can make a few designed as Bonsly." Mr. Woodward said.

"That would be a great idea, I think everyone would love them!" I said as we all walked back to Mr. Woodward's house and dropped off the logs on his table

"Thank you all so much for your help, please be careful getting home. The sculptures won't take long to make, thank you for the idea Kellyn! Goodbye!" Mr. Woodward said as we left shortly afterwards. We were going to enter the Ranger base when I saw that my Styler said it was 8:20 P.M., meaning everyone was asleep already.

"Yay, we completed some quests today! I'll have my Staraptor come to take me and Sven to the Ranger Union, there aren't any Pokémon out at this time so you two can enjoy a leisurely walk home! We loved doing quests with you guys!" Wendy said as she called Marcus, asking him to have her Staraptor land where they were.

"I enjoyed doing quests with them too, Wendy. But…those bushes rustling at Nabiki beach…they were strange. Like Luana said, if it was a Pokémon, they would have greeted us but they didn't, something seemed off." Sven said.

"I agree, doing quests with you guys was fun! As for those bushes, I thought it was rather odd as well, I felt like someone was watching us…aside from that, we wanted to thank for going with us, we appreciate the help you two have been!" I said, smiling.

"You're welcome Kellyn, we always help out our friends! It looks like my Staraptor's here!" Wendy said as her Staraptor landed.

The both of them got on Staraptor and waved to us while we did the same, within minutes, they quickly took off and started flying towards the Ranger Union.

"Ready to head back to the Ranger Union?" I said.

"I am, I can't wait to get some dinner and then get a nice rest!" Luana said as we held hands and started walking out of Vientown.

Walking into Vien forest was a bit scary, especially with how some places were still burnt from the fire, but Luana and I were able to make it through as the way through Vien forest wasn't too bad or complicated.

As we headed into Pueltown, Luana and I noticed how the only other people walking around at this time were a few security guards and Rangers, Luana and I waved to them as we continued towards Union Road. As we were walking down Union Road, I started to feel very worried, I fearfully looked all around me, there wasn't anyone around here at night time but that just made me panic more.

"K-Kellyn…I'm starting to feel uneasy again, just like we were at Nabiki beach, we should go a bit faster please." Luana said, fearfully as we started to walk faster.

"I know what you mean, Luana, I feel very nervous as well. If someone tried attacking us when it was day time, it wouldn't be as bad since there would be people around here, but since it's night time and no one else is around, I understand your concern. I'll do my best to protect you if anyone tries attacking us, but I agree, we should definitely get out of here." I said as we both started to run, I felt more and more uneasy and though I didn't feel paralyzed because of fear, I knew that running would be the best option.

As Luana and I continued to run, we noticed something up ahead, slightly covered by trees…it was a Ranger…wearing a mask. The good thing about the Union Road is that it's spacious, so when we noticed the Ranger, Luana and I were able to dodge him as he leapt out of his hiding spot as he fell on the ground. When I turned my head to quickly look back at him, I noticed he had a rope in one hand and what looked like…poison. We quickly made our way to the Ranger Union, terrified at what just happened, we both ran inside to see that the receptionist was filing away some paperwork, with her looking rather startled to see us burst in.


	18. Chapter 18: Sven and Wendy's Assault

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!**

Chapter 18: Sven and Wendy's Assault

"H-hello Kellyn and Luana, good evening. What's the matter?" The receptionist said.

"There's a Ranger that was waiting for us by Union Road, he was hiding by some trees and when he failed at ambushing us and we started running, I saw that he had rope and poison in his hands. You have to tell Marcus so he can inform all of the Area Rangers and Chairperson Erma right now!" I said as the receptionist's eyes turned fearful as she got on the phone with Marcus.

"Yes, Marcus, we need you to tell every Ranger that's by Nabiki beach, the Ranger Union, Pueltown, and the Union Road to be on the lookout for any Ranger who might be wearing a black mask, he might not even have it on anymore, but the Rangers should check for anyone who isn't supposed to be in the area. This Ranger has attacked Kellyn and Luana before and he'll most likely attack any other Rangers. Kellyn and Luana also said that they noticed the Ranger holding a bottle of poison, so tell any Rangers to keep a distance from any suspicious Rangers. Please have someone make an announcement so any Rangers who are simply visiting the Ranger Union have an idea of the threat." The receptionist said to Marcus.

Right as she hanged up, an announcement went over to everyone in the Ranger Union.

"Attention to all Rangers currently at the Ranger Union. A Ranger has attempted to attack Kellyn and Luana by the Union Road and previously attacked them at Nabiki beach. He is extremely dangerous and was last seen wearing a mask, which he most likely doesn't have on anymore. He has no other discernable features. This Ranger also carried poison and if you see any Rangers by themselves, make sure to question them and keep a distance from them. This is a serious emergency, find him as soon as possible." Marcus said.

"I'm glad an announcement was made. Kellyn, do you remember that same male Ranger who attacked you by the Ranger Union's entrance and insulted you while you were in the hospital bed, do you think that he's the same Ranger as the one with the mask? I certainly think so, no one has seen him since he attacked you last time." Luana said as she trembled slightly.

"I think that he is, the issue is that every Ranger would need to be even more careful. When he came into the hospital room, he had two other Rangers with him, which means that they could be working together and hurt other Rangers who notice him! We also haven't seen those two female Rangers since he barged into our hospital room." I said.

"I'll let Marcus know about the two other Rangers!" The receptionist said as she called Marcus and relayed the information to him.

"Attention Rangers, this is another announcement regarding the Ranger who assaulted Kellyn and Luana, there are two other Rangers who are working alongside him, both of them are female and they are also going to be a serious threat just like the male Ranger. Take caution with all of them. If any of you have any questions, Kellyn and Luana are at the receptionist counter." Marcus said.

Even though the announcements were made less than a minute from each other, we soon heard multitudes of footsteps as dozens of Rangers walked down the staircase and made their way out of the Ranger Union. Luana and I saw Sven and Wendy in the crowd as they came over to us.

"Kellyn! Luana! We heard the announcements and rushed over to help you guys. We're sorry that we weren't able to have Staraptor come back for you guys, he's been tired since we came back from Boyle Volcano." Wendy said, looking sad.

"Don't worry guys, we'll do our best to find these three, we're not sure how the Top Operators couldn't find them with their Stylers. Maybe they destroyed them?" Sven said.

"That makes sense considering how vicious they were towards us. Let us know if you guys find anything, of course, Luana and I will stay here for safety reasons." I said as Sven and Wendy briskly walked out of the Ranger Union.

"Kellyn, Luana, I brought some chairs for the both of you, I figured you two will both be here for the rest of the night. Especially because they only attack you guys when no one else is around, I'm done with work now, but one of your friends will be coming soon to keep you guys company. Good night Kellyn and Luana, I hope they find those three Rangers soon." The receptionist said.

"Thank you, we appreciate the help you've been. Good night." We said as the receptionist went upstairs. Soon afterwards, we saw Marcus come down the escalator.

"Hi guys, I figured that I would keep you guys some company since there's a chance that those three Rangers would possibly break into your sleeping quarters. Considering that one of them had poison, they could very well do just that." Marcus said as he borrowed the receptionist's chair and sat next to us.

"Hello Marcus, thanks for keeping us company, we really appreciate it. It was a terrifying experience to say the least. If Luana hadn't told us to start walking a bit faster, I think he would have killed us. Who knows how long that Ranger was waiting for us." I said.

"Don't worry Kellyn, we should be safe here, I think it's extremely scary how that Ranger tried to kill us. If it were just you or me alone, he may have been able to do that." Luana said as she started to tremble, though I gave her a hug which made her relax.

"I'll be here to keep you guys company all night. I know the Rangers will do their best to find the other two who might be helping him, you also have Sven and Wendy looking for them!" Marcus said.

"That's right, they're all great Rangers, especially Sven and Wendy!" I said.

"They really are, do you think those three Rangers would attack the Pokémon that are nearby? Or only the Rangers?" Luana said, wringing her hands, though she relaxed once I put my hands on hers.

"Hmm, considering how that one male Ranger kept attacking the both of you, as well as the other two who insulted you guys, they would definitely attack Rangers or Pokémon because of how angry they are. I would say they would only do so because of how they attacked you guys for no reason, I'm glad you two aren't hurt." Marcus said.

"That's scary, I hope someone finds them soon and is able to capture them without getting themselves hurt." I said as my Styler started to ring. Since it was from Sven and Wendy, I answered and noticed the time was 8:50 P.M. I was a bit surprised and wondered if they were able to catch the Rangers already as Luana listened intently as she started to wring her hands.

"K-Kellyn…L-Luana, we…we were able to find…those three Rangers, they were still hiding near Union Road and…you guys…were right, they ambushed us and we were able to dodge one of them, but the other two came out of nowhere and overpowered us. Sven is beaten up b-badly, they just finished attacking us and they…they were scary. Please…please help…" Wendy said as her Styler hanged up.

"M-Marcus, you stay here, go upstairs where it's safe. Those three Rangers will come here next, knowing that we're here. Put this place on lockdown right as we leave, if our Pokémon weren't trying to recover from the medicine they took the other day, Luana and I would bring them with us. We have to go, Marcus." I said as we ran out of the Ranger Union.

Luana and I looked around for Sven and Wendy as I looked through my Styler so that every Ranger in Almia and not just the ones looking around the area, would know how dangerous these three are.

"Attention all Rangers, this is Kellyn with a voicemail. Those three Rangers are still out there, they're going to be using darkness as a cover. The three of them are getting more dangerous as they've also assaulted Sven and Wendy. If any of you are anywhere near Sven or Wendy, let me or Luana know so that we can both help them immediately. If any Rangers have a Pokémon to assist them in the search, let them help as best as they can. These Rangers aren't to be taken lightly and every precaution needs to be taken to ensure everyone's safety, especially the area around Union Road. If anyone knows anything, call me or Luana." I typed on the Fine Styler so that every Ranger could get information about the nefarious group.

Eventually, we spotted Sven and Wendy, they were underneath a tree and as we approached them, I saw how badly beaten they were as I gasped in surprise and Luana went up to Sven and Wendy.

"Wendy…Sven…they're not moving, but their hearts are still beating. We have to get them medical attention right away, Wendy was telling us about what happened, but…she's knocked out now, is it possible they came back?" Luana said as she continued to cautiously look around.

I went up and examined Sven's face, noticing how much blood was covering his face, I turned to Wendy and saw how she got quite a few bruises as well.

"That could be the case, which means that they could have seen us coming to help Sven and Wendy." I said as I looked around, not finding anyone. Thankfully, Wendy started to wake up.

"W-what happened? The last thing I remember was Sven and I heading to that log cabin by Union Road. S-Sven?!" Wendy said as she frantically tried shaking Sven.

"Wendy, you blacked out from the wounds you received, but you called us to explain how you and Sven were brutally attacked by those three Rangers. Sven, despite being badly beaten, is alive, but we're going to take you two to the Ranger Union to receive medical care, it's currently on lockdown. Are you able to walk?" I said in a hushed voice, feeling that the three Rangers could be nearby.

"I-I'll…try my best. Make sure Sven is okay too, they…they beat him much worse than me, I'm just glad they didn't have a Pokémon with them when they were attacking us." Wendy said as she attempted to get up.

Even as I helped Wendy to her feet, I could tell that with the way she was limping that she wasn't going to be able to walk, especially with her injuries.

"R-ready to go to the Ranger…Union. Come on Kellyn and Luana…let's bring Sven and head there quick!" Wendy said, her breathing strained as she started to try walking, though Luana and I held her back.

"Wendy, you're not going to walk to the Ranger Union with your injuries. Kellyn will carry you to the Ranger Union while I'll carry Sven there. Those vicious Rangers could come back!" Luana said as she gently carried Sven while I carried Wendy. The both of us started running to the Ranger Union and looked at the trees for signs of any movement.

"P-please put me down, I-I'm not that badly hurt! I don't want to be a burden on you guys, you're my friends!" Wendy said as we both gave her a sad look.

"Wendy, you're not a burden, you're our friend too and you and Sven are both seriously hurt. You tried walking only a few steps just now and nearly collapsed! We're nearly at the Ranger Union, it'll be a few more minutes!" I said as we saw the Ranger Union not too far away.

Luana and I made our way to the Ranger Union's entrance and noticed Marcus and Linda were there, standing guard with hospital beds by the receptionist counter. When they saw us, their eyes widened in shock as they both opened the doors. Running inside, we put Wendy and Sven on the hospital beds, as Luana started typing on her Styler while Wendy started to sniffle.

"This is another voicemail, Sven and Wendy are at the Ranger Union and they're both going to be in intensive care as they recover from their wounds. That is all for now." Luana said.

"W-w-what about Sven? Is he going t-to make a f-full recovery? We need a doctor here now!" Wendy said as tears started to stream down her face.

"I have Dr. Rhythmi on the way, he's going to be able to help out you and Sven!" Marcus said.

Within seconds, Dr. Rhythmi came running down the escalator along with my mother and a nurse. When mom saw Luana and I, she gave us a hug.

"Hello sweethearts, I was informed that two of your friends were brutally attacked and I thought the least I could do was help them out. I rushed over here as fast as I could." Mom said as she looked sympathetically at Wendy.

"You're in good hands, Wendy. Mrs. Hajime has treated numerous people and Pokémon. She'll make sure the both of you are treated carefully." Dr. Rhythmi said as the two nurses brought Sven upstairs.

"T-thank you, Dr. Rhythmi and Mrs. Hajime, please make sure Sven is okay." Wendy said as she wiped away her tears.

"I will, don't you worry. Kellyn's mom will patch you up and check for any damaged tendons. I have some paperwork to fill out, but Mrs. Hajime, Kellyn and Luana will help you to your room. I hope you and Sven make a swift recovery!" Dr. Rhythmi said as Luana and I carried Wendy upstairs in her hospital bed, with mom going first.

"Kellyn, Luana, Wendy and Sven's room is going to be this one, it's the first medical room on this floor out of ten of them. It's the fourth door." Mom said as we entered the room, with the nurse from before hooking Sven up to some machines. I was relieved seeing him without blood on his face.

"How…how is he? Is he going to make it?" Wendy said as she looked at Sven, sadness in her voice.

"Hello Wendy, by looking at him, he appears to have been beaten quite severely, however, he'll definitely make it. I went ahead and removed all the blood from his face as well, but he's slowly been getting a steadier heart rate compared to previously." The nurse said as my mother started to hook Wendy up to similar machines.

"Good, Sven got attacked even more viciously than Wendy did. Wendy, I'll be hooking you up to some machines that will monitor you for any brain damage, broken bones or lacerations. It's also important you get much needed rest, no matter how much you feel that you'll be able to work." My mom said.

"Yes Mrs. Hajime, thank you. I was having some issues with walking earlier when Kellyn and Luana found Sven and I, the actual assault was so scary…they just kept hitting Sven and I even as we were on the ground. They were very vicious." Wendy said.

"I understand Wendy, I'll be checking for any brain or leg injuries that could have happened as a result of the attack. Also, Kellyn and Luana, when I'm done checking Wendy for injuries, I'll catch up with the both of you." Mom said as we smiled, with Luana gently putting a hand on Wendy's shoulder.

"Wendy, Kellyn and I are here for you and Sven. If either of you two need anything, let us know and we'll do our best to help you out." Luana said.

"That's right. For now, the both of you have to focus on recovering. Even if you think you're going to be able to walk just fine, if you try doing so with how your leg is now, you'll just end up being in more pain." I said as one of the machines made a sound, letting mom know that the test was finished.

"Hmm, let's see. Good news Wendy! The machine just checked out any possible injuries you may have and there's no broken or fractured bones, lacerations or brain damage from the assault. Kellyn and Luana are correct, straining yourself will only make you suffer more. Getting rest is important, Dr. Rhythmi also gave me some antibiotics for your sprained leg, you'll need to take them once per day with food or water." Mom said.

"Thank you Mrs. Hajime, I really appreciate the help that you've been. I'm feeling very tired but I wanted to thank Kellyn and Luana, before I headed to sleep, if that's okay!" Wendy said as we both walked over.

"You wanted to thank us, Wendy? We appreciate that, but there's no need, anyone would have helped you guys out like we did!" I said with a smile.

"Kellyn's right, no one would leave you guys behind after seeing how badly beaten up you two were!" Luana said.

"That's true, but those Rangers were after you two and you were both so worried about us that you carried Sven and I all the way to the Ranger Union. I was really worried those three would come back and kill us. Thank you guys so much, I really appreciate it. I'll try heading to bed, good night." Wendy said as she laid down on her bed and started to snooze.

"We're happy you're safe. That's what matters, good night Wendy." We said.

"Good news Mrs. Hajime, I finished putting all the machines and having them hooked up to Sven, it'll be monitoring his heart rate and lungs throughout the night for any abnormalities. Dr. Rhythmi said that all that needs to be done is to make a note of whenever they wake up, since the medicine will be helping them out with recovering. I'll be headed to bed, good night." The nurse said.

"Good night, thanks for your assistance." Mom said as the nurse walked out of the room, locking the door.

"Let's head over to the corner so we're not making much noise." I said as we all moved away from Sven and Wendy so they're not bothered.

"Good idea, now we can catch up with each other." Mom said as she smiled.

"Mom, thank you for helping out my friends, I really appreciate it. When I saw their condition, I was just stunned that they could be attacked so badly." I said.

"No worries son, I know how much the Rangers go through, but I never would have imagined three Rangers attacking Sven and Wendy for no reason, it's absolutely absurd." Mom said, surprised.

"I know, it was…scary to see what those three did to Sven and Wendy, they've been bothering us but I didn't think that they would attack Wendy or Sven." I said, feeling horrible for how both of them got hurt.

I looked over at Sven and Wendy and I felt horrible, I put my head in my hands and started to cry in front of mom and Luana, feeling as if I was the reason they were having to recover. After a few seconds of crying, I felt both of them giving me a hug.

"Kellyn, please don't cry. Sven and Wendy are going to recover, don't worry! You mentioned previously how those three Rangers bothered you and Luana, did they assault you two as well?" Mom said as I wiped away the tears.

"That's right, they continuously assaulted us, and made fun of us repeatedly. When I was an Area Ranger with Luana, the male Ranger attacked both of us at Nabiki beach, almost pushing us down the concrete steps, I was able to punch him and render him unconscious. The second time with all three Rangers was when they insulted us when I was in this same hospital room, trying to recover from some injuries I got in Team Dim Sun's ship, Luana scared them off just by standing up, that was awesome! The third time involved the male Ranger as he managed to assault me outside the Ranger Union, thankfully, Luana was able to knock him out and no one has seen the female Rangers since they insulted us, while the male Ranger wasn't seen after the second assault. Luana and I think that the male Ranger who insulted us is the same Ranger with the mask." I said as mom gave me a firm hug.


	19. Chapter 19: Citizens in distress

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Pokemon!**

Chapter 19: Citizens in distress

"Oh honey, those three caused the both of you so much trouble. I shudder to think of what they would have done to either of you if you guys were by yourselves. Now let's talk about something positive, such as you, Luana." Mom said with a smile as Luana started to blush.

"M-m-me? W-what would you like to talk about, Mrs. Hajime?" Luana said as she twiddled her thumbs.

"Don't you worry Luana! I just wanted to thank you for being a partner to my son, you've kept him safe from Team Dim Sun and the Pokémon that they've been controlling to cause havoc in Almia. While I know that being a Ranger is risky, what sort of dangers did you two face so far with Team Dim Sun?" Mom said.

"Y-you're welcome, I'm glad that I was able to keep Kellyn safe from Team Dim Sun, the admins are very dangerous, while most of the grunts are harmless to us. As for what we've faced so far, one of our first adventures involved a Team Dim Sun admin controlling a Toxicroak with a metallic Styler. Even as he tossed it into the sea, it was still able to control the Toxicroak, and it was vicious, spitting poisonous gas and mud puddles at us. We tried going after the admin…but he was able to use the Toxicroak to get away from us. Then, it attacked us with mud puddles, and we dodged them at first, but then Kellyn slipped on one of them even as we continued running around. As Toxicroak was about to use poison gas on Kellyn, I ran up the steps to distract it and I was able to do so as it followed me and attempted to attack me. I…I thought Kellyn was going to be killed." Luana said as my mother was silent, though she quickly gave Luana a big hug.

"You saved my son, I can't thank you enough, Luana. What other dangers did you guys face with Team Dim Sun?" Mom said.

"Well…another adventure we had involved finding Barlow where his Styler last was, leading us to storm a cargo ship that was operated by Team Dim Sun. When we ended up storming the ship, looking for any controlled Pokémon, a large box was about to fall on us and…Kellyn pushed me out of the way, which prevented both of us from being knocked unconscious. When we found Barlow, we all headed up to the deck and as you know, we were able to save the Pokémon. However, what no one else knew was how Kellyn got injured when an Aerodactyl attacked us, I'm glad the Aerodactyl didn't kill him, it sure felt like it came close to doing so. When the ship eventually crashed, Kellyn's leg was injured because of all the missions and quests he had been doing and he had to rest for a few days. I was so worried about his injuries that if Marcus hadn't brought a Staraptor to take us the Ranger Union, I would have ran all the way there. Another one of the scarier moments of our adventure is when we were in Almia Castle, as we were headed to where the Blue Gem is, a tremor happened and made several icicles fall, I noticed that one of them was about to fall on Kellyn and I swiftly pushed him out of the way." Luana said as she put her hands in her face, though I was able to hear her sniffling, I made Luana feel better by hugging her as she wiped away her tears.

"Luana, there's no need to cry. I appreciate the help that both of you have been to each other and Almia. You and Kellyn are both dedicated Top Rangers and I can tell that the two of you really care for each other. Though Kellyn and you have nearly been killed numerous times, which worries me, the fact that you and Kellyn have saved each other during your adventures is something that I'm proud to hear as a mother." Mom said.

"Thank you, Mrs. Hajime, that's right, Kellyn and I are great together and I wouldn't have any other Ranger as my partner!" Luana said as my mother smiled.

"I feel the same way, you're the greatest partner ever, Luana." I said, giving Luana a hug.

"I'm happy to hear that, I can't wait to attend the wedding!" Mom said, making both of us blush.

Afterwards, we started to hear some murmuring, which made us walk over to Sven and Wendy's beds as we saw Sven slowly moving while my mom checked his heart rate.

"Good, he's awake, his heart rate is steadier now." Mom said as we all watched Sven slowly open his eyes.

"Where…where am I? Is that…Wendy? What happened to her?" Sven said as he looked at Wendy, sound asleep.

"Hi Sven, Wendy has a sprained leg, but aside from that, she's doing well despite the brutal attack on you two. She woke up a little while ago and she's been sound asleep since then. I'm Mrs. Hajime, Kellyn's mother." Mom said.

"Hello Mrs. Hajime, it's nice to meet you. I'm happy that Wendy is getting some rest, thank you for helping her, I hope she'll make a recovery soon. Did those three Rangers get captured yet?" Sven said as my mother shook her head.

"As of now, they're still on the run, though the Ranger Union is on lockdown until they're found. We're glad that you and Wendy are alive, Kellyn and Luana carried the both of you here, otherwise, there's a possibility that…those three Rangers would have come back." Mom said.

"Wendy…she protected me from them but when they knocked her out, I remember that they kept attacking me even as I went down on the ground. I…I begged them to spare Wendy and surprisingly, they didn't attack her afterwards. While I'm happy we're both okay, I'm sad that she has a damaged leg. I should have protected her." Sven said, looking miserable.

"Sven don't be so hard on yourself, those three ambushed you two. Wendy would be annoyed at you for being upset at yourself.." I said.

"Kellyn's right, those three Rangers are cowards, when Kellyn was in this hospital room, they came in with masks on and started insulting us and when I got in their faces, they ran away. As for you feeling down because of the assault, you two need each other for support, the both of you are partners after all!" Luana said.

"You guys are right…thank you. I'll do my best to support Wendy, I just hope those three Rangers are found soon. Considering that those three evaded Rangers for so long, do you guys think they've had help from someone? Maybe even Team Dim Sun?" Sven said.

"That's actually something we haven't thought of. Those three have destroyed their Stylers to evade capture, otherwise, they would have been found. I could see someone helping them out through intimidation or doing so willingly." Luana said.

"Hmm, what if…what if those three were actually insiders who were helping Team Dim Sun get an idea of the layout of the Ranger Union, or trying to gather data on our operations in order to launch an attack? It may seem insane, but every time we encountered the guy or all three of them, they've only been causing trouble." I said fearfully.

"If that's the case, then that's terrifying. I hope that those three are simply rogue Rangers instead of working for Team Dim Sun, which would be worse." Mom said as Sven started to yawn.

"As for you Sven, you should go back to sleep since right now is 11:53 P.M., you need to get as much rest as you can." Luana said.

"Okay, I'll get some rest. Thank you guys for everything, I can't even express how much I appreciate the help all of you have been. Kellyn and Luana, you two are good friends of Wendy and myself, if you guys are ever in peril, I hope that I'll be able to help you guys out. Good night, everyone." Sven said as he put his blanket over him.

"Good night Sven, you're one of the calmest patients I've had!" Mom said as she chuckled.

"It's not a problem Sven, we're glad that we're your friends. Good night Sven!" I said with a smile.

"You don't need to thank us Sven, friends help friends out! Good night." Luana said as Sven went to sleep instantly.

As Sven fell asleep, Luana went into the bathroom and changed off into her Eevee pajamas, a few minutes later, she came back out and I entered the bathroom and changed off into my own Eevee pajamas. When I got outside, I saw my mom smiling.

"You two look so great together! I knew that you two were close but I think it's adorable that you two have matching pajamas!" Mom said.

"Thanks, just like Kellyn, I'm a big Eevee and Mudkip fan but all the pajamas for Mudkip are blue and not being able to see such as a cool Pokémon is really frustrating. I remember when we noticed saw we had matching pajamas, Kellyn's face looked so happy." Luana said.

"I know, most people tend to go for Charmander or Pikachu pajamas, so I was very elated to see someone else liked Eevee!" I said happily.

"I'm glad you two have such wonderful personalities, it makes me so happy to see how adoring the both of you are!" Mom said.

We all went ahead to go find some of those chairs that fold into beds. After looking around, we were able to find two of them, while also noticing a large chair in the corner with three Altaria blankets on top, moving the two chairs there. We each took one blanket for each other while mom took off the light and went back down to sit on the chair.

"This chair is very comfy, I'll sleep here while you two can sleep in the beds!" Mom said.

"Are you sure mom? If it's too uncomfortable, you can always sleep on one of these beds." I said.

"That's okay son, this chair is really comfy! Besides, even if it wasn't, I know that you would be struggling to sleep in a large chair by yourself, then again, you do have Luana with you for company." Mom said with a grin, making both of us blush.

"M-mom! Go to bed, it's getting late!" I said, flustered while Luana giggled.

"Just joking with you son, or am I? Good night Kellyn, good night Luana. Love you both." Mom said.

"You're too funny mom, good night, love you. Good night Luana, l-love you." I said, whispering the last part as I gave Luana a kiss on the cheek.

"Your mother is pretty funny, good night Kellyn, I love you too." Luana said as we both held hands, I could feel my face getting hot even as I drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, I saw that Luana and mom were still asleep, while Sven and Wendy were up talking, though they were whispering. I went over to them as I made sure not to wake Luana or mom.

"Hi guys, good morning. Did you two sleep well?" I said in a hushed voice.

"Hello Kellyn, we did. Wendy and I were just talking about yesterday, then we saw how adorable you and Luana looked next to each other." Sven said.

"Thanks guys, the both of you are pretty great together as well. Do either of you happen to know if the Ranger Union is still on lockdown?" I said.

"It is, Marcus said that a group of Rangers tried to capture the three of them, but they were able to escape and were also able to injure the Rangers who tried catching them, causing some damage to their arms." Wendy said.

Hearing this only made me enraged, it wasn't just that these three tried to kill us, but the fact that Wendy and Sven were attacked as well was what really infuriated me. The look on my face must have been terrifying since neither of them spoke for a bit, noticing their fearful expressions, I quickly calmed down.

"Remind me to never get you angry, Kellyn." Sven said.

"I agree, you looked angrier than a Primeape, Tyranitar and an Aerodactyl combined!" Wendy said.

"Sorry about that, it just makes me so annoyed that you two were attacked by them. When Luana and I found the both of you, we were both extremely worried to say the least. These three…I wonder if they're working for Team Dim Sun. Sven, me, my mom and Luana were talking about how they could be a part of Team Dim Sun meant to gain information on the Ranger Union while posing as Rangers. What do you think about that, Wendy?" I said.

"I can understand why you would be so mad since all four of us plus three additional Rangers have been attacked by them. I agree with you guys, even if they destroyed their Stylers, they should have been caught by now. Perhaps Team Dim Sun really is helping them in some way." Wendy said as I heard mom and Luana wake up.

"Good morning everyone, I hope you all had a good sleep." Mom said as she went over to check Sven's heart rate.

"Good morning Mrs. Hajime, we certainly did. Wendy and I were just telling Kellyn that the Ranger Union is still on lockdown and that three more Rangers were attacked by the group, receiving some lacerations on their arms." Sven said.

"Oh my, those disorderly Rangers are getting more dangerous." Mom said.

"That's right, hopefully Chairperson Erma can declare this to be a dire emergency for every Ranger in Almia. This would mean that four Rangers would need to be together at all times instead of two and would also mean that all employees will have to head back to the Ranger Union around 7 P.M." Wendy said.

"Something has to be done about these Rangers, Luana, are you ready to look for them?" I whispered to Luana.

"Of course I'm ready! But before we start looking for them, can we go upstairs so I can talk with Chairperson Erma?" Luana said.

"Sure, we can do that! Let's get ready since Wendy and Sven have to recover and mom has to help them out." I said as I went into the bathroom and changed into my Ranger uniform. As I exited, I saw Wendy and Sven smiling at me.

"You're going to work even considering how dangerous those three are?" Sven said.

"I definitely am! Those three have to be stopped, they could end up killing someone!" I said as I heard the bathroom door opening, seeing Luana with a determined look on her face.

"Wow, the two of you look prepared. Be careful!" Wendy said.

"That's Kellyn and Luana for you! The both of you are capable and smart Top Rangers, you two be safe." Mom said.

"We will! Kellyn and I will be back when we bring those three in. We'll get them!" Luana said.

"Before we leave, do you two need anything? It's 11:55 A.M. and we can bring you guys food if you want." I said.

"That's okay, thank you guys. Mrs. Hajime said some doctors will bring us food while she checks us out to make sure we don't have any issues while eating." Sven said.

"Thank you though, we appreciate it. Good luck catching those Rangers!" Wendy said.

"Speaking of food, make sure you both eat before you go!" Mom said.

"Okay mom, we will, bye everyone!" I said as Luana and I waved.

Luana and I headed to the cafeteria to get a snack, four pancakes and two slices of bread with some Miltank milk that was finished within a few minutes. Afterwards, we ran to the fourth floor and saw Chairperson Erma at the Tree of Harmony.

"Hello Chairperson Erma, good morning. Luana and I were speaking with Sven and Wendy in their hospital room, they're both going to be recovering today and they're doing well for the most part. Wendy was discussing about making this situation a dire emergency for every Ranger across Almia considering that the three Rangers still haven't been found. Luana and I are also going to be looking for them and we would like to request our Pokémon to come along given how dangerous these three are. Once we're done with our quests, we'll head right back for our Pokémon and start searching for those Rangers." I said.

"Hello dearies, good morning. I'm happy that Sven and Wendy are doing well, I'm going to check up on them to make sure they're resting and not attempting to try working with their injuries. As for declaring this to be an emergency, I'll go ahead and do that promptly. Since you two are going after those Rangers, be very careful, they've already attacked seven Rangers including you two, hopefully they don't injure citizens or Pokémon. When you two are finished helping citizens out, you're more than welcome to take your four Pokémon along." Chairperson Erma said.

"Thank you so much Chairperson Erma, we really appreciate it!" I said as we all went to the third floor. Chairperson Erma went over to a phone that was located near a brown door which was also where Marcus and Linda were sitting and quickly dialed a few numbers.

"Attention Rangers, whether you're a Top Ranger or an Area Ranger, you must follow the curfew aside from Kellyn and Luana, they're going to be essential to bringing these three Rangers down because of all the trouble they've caused everyone, as well as instilling fear in the Ranger community. The curfew is at 7 P.M., all employees of the Ranger Union must return to headquarters immediately and Rangers will also need to go in groups of four until the emergency is declared over. If any Ranger has any information regarding these three, inform me and I'll relay the information to Kellyn and Luana. Our four Top Rangers, Kellyn, Luana, Wendy and Sven assume that the three Rangers have gotten help from Team Dim Sun. Whether that's the case or not, all of you must take caution. That is all for now, thank you." Chairperson Erma said as she hanged up the phone.

"Thank you Chairperson Erma, we'll be careful. Luana and I will do some quests to help out some concerned citizens until it reaches around 7 P.M., then we'll be looking for those Rangers as all the other Ranger Union employees head back to headquarters." I said.

"Excellent, if the two of you need anything, just tell Marcus and he'll let me know, good luck!" Chairperson Erma said.

"We'll let you know if anything comes up, if those Rangers are spotted, they're not getting away!" Luana said.

"Good, take care you two!" Chairperson Erma said as she went back upstairs.

Luana and I quickly left the Ranger Union as we headed into Pueltown, I checked my Styler to see if any quests were ready for us to do. I noticed that we had three quests for Pueltown with one of them open. When I saw the quest information, I grinned.

"What sort of quest are we doing? It's certainly making you smile." Luana said as I put my arm around her.

"It's a great one, the quest involves helping a couple find their Eevee, we have to ask them for more information since all it says is their Eevee is missing, they said to go by a pair of benches, where they'll be sitting down nearby a fountain." I said as Luana and I went to go look for them.

Soon enough, we saw a couple sitting on the bench and as we approached them, they both got up and shook our hands.

"Are you the Rangers who are going to help us find our Eevee?" The man said.

"Obviously they are, they walked right up to us!" The disgruntled woman said as they both started bickering. Luana and I looked at each other and the couple eventually started arguing louder, annoyed with their attitudes, I went up to them.

"Can you two keep it down? I don't mean to sound disrespectful but with how loud and how much you two are arguing, it's no wonder your Eevee ran away! Can one of you please tell us where your Eevee may have gone? Do either of you know where it frequently goes?" I said with an annoyed look on my face which made the couple turn silent once they saw my expression.

"Can't you see these two Rangers are trying to help? Our Eevee loves to frequent the port, it loves the water and enjoys talking with the Wingull, Rattata or the Toxicroak that are there. I'm not sure if our son is there taking care of it, he knows that it usually goes there whenever we argue." The woman said.

We both thanked them and headed to the port, when Luana and I reached the boathouse, we heard an Eevee on the loading area by where the boats would dock. As the two of us went to where the noise came from, we saw a little Eevee sitting between two crates by the staircase, it looked sad and when it saw me, it cautiously approached us.

"Hello Eevee, we're here to help you. My partner and I will bring you back to your caretakers and we'll tell them not to fight as often anymore, or at least when you're nearby. How does that sound?" I said with a smile.

The Eevee looked at Luana and I for a few seconds before it happily jumped into my arms while Luana gently hugged it while we walked back to the couple. When the two of them spotted Eevee, they quickly ran up to it as Eevee cautiously went back into the man's arms.

"Thank you for finding our beloved Eevee, how can we ever thank you?" The man said.

"You can thank us by not arguing whenever your Eevee is around you two, the both of you are causing it stress and a Pokémon needs to be treated with love." I said.

"Your Eevee is an adorable Pokémon and has to be given affection, when it hears you two arguing, it just decides to go with your son or head to the port by itself. We found it sitting between two crates and the little Eevee looked so sad. You two need to not argue around it, save the bickering after it leaves if you two absolutely have to argue." Luana said.

"We'll do our best, poor Eevee, we didn't mean to make you stressed out. We're sorry, how about we go make you some delicious Pokémon food?" The woman said as Eevee happily bounced in the man's arms.

"The both of us will try to be more understanding of our Eevee and other Pokémon too, thank you, Rangers!" The man said as they happily walked away, embracing their Eevee.

"Yay, quest complete!" Luana said as I gave her a high five. Afterwards, Luana and I were walking a bit around town as I checked my Styler and noticed it was 1:35 P.M., figuring that perhaps Marcus was assisting other Rangers, we decided to check the other quest that was open to us.

"Let's see here…it says that the owner of a café has been having problem with some strange men in his cafe. Let's go see how we can help!" I said as Luana and I looked around the multitude of cafés, finding it odd that the quest information didn't give the name of the café we're looking for. As we continued looking at the different cafés, we saw a man waving us over.

"Hello there, what do you need help with?" I said.

"Hello Rangers, I was the one who needed help with a quest. I need the both of you to help me in my café, there are some shifty guys loitering in the back and they won't leave! Please help, I don't know what they want but they're not buying anything and they won't speak to me when I ask. Can you two tell them that I said they should leave?" The café owner said.

"Don't worry sir, we'll get those guys out! Just stay by whatever area you feel would be safer." Luana said as we both entered the café.

Upon entering, we saw three suspicious men in the back, just as the owner described. They were sitting around and laughing as if they owned the place. They were wearing black jackets and ripped jeans, but they weren't intimidating at all, however, I can understand why the owner would be afraid of them if they tried picking a fight. As Luana and I approached them, they looked at us, with one of the men getting up and walking over.

"Can we help you?" The first man said while his two friends at the back stared at us.

"Man, these two are almost as tall as an Aggron, what's their problem with us? We're just having some fun." One of the men said.

"We need the three of you to leave this establishment, you're causing the owner grief by sitting in here without paying for anything." I said as the man in front of us sized us up, motioning for his two friends to come over.

"Really? We're going to stay here, thank you very much." The second one said with a smirk on his face as he joined his friend.

The second man tried attacking us, though I was quick to punch him in his face, bringing him down quickly. The first man who approached us tried punching Luana in her stomach, she was able to dodge his attack and hit him right in his jaw as he also fell on the floor, unconscious. The third man looked at his friends and back at us fearfully as I held him down, making sure he didn't flee. I went through my Styler and called Marcus, after a few rings he picked up.

"Hello Kellyn, hi Luana, I see that you two are in that new café that just opened up, you two also completed a quest for the couple with the lost Eevee!" Marcus said.

"Hi Marcus, Luana and I need some Staraptors to bring three people to the Ranger Union as they were loitering inside of the café without buying anything. Two of them also tried assaulting us so we would like for the Staraptors to be brought right away please." I said.

"No problem, I'll have the Staraptors pick the three of them up right away, I'll also have your Power Up data transmitted once you complete this quest as well!" Marcus said.

"Thanks Marcus, hopefully the Staraptor come soon, bye!" Luana said.

Luana and I went outside with the three men, with the Staraptors already outside with harnesses to keep the men from attacking anyone. We put the three men on the Staraptor as they flew to the Ranger Union swiftly with the café owner cheering after they left.

"Thank you so much, I really appreciate you Rangers. Thank you for helping me with those rowdy men! Here are some business cards, the café is technically operational but I still have to order the signage so it can officially open as a business, it should be ready soon!" The café owner said as he handed us business cards with the café being called the Pokémon café and the owner's name, John.


	20. Chapter 20: Chroma Highlands

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or the Ranger series.**

**A/N: I know this story isn't the best, so please give me some constructive criticism so I can improve!**

Chapter 20: Chroma Highlands and Compassion

"It's not a problem at all John, we're glad to help! We'll stop by and get some food when we're in the area, thanks for the cards!" I said as we both waved to the owner.

As Luana and I continued to walk around Pueltown, I heard my Styler go off and I picked it up after a few rings.

"Luana! Kellyn! Congratulations on clearing two quests, I'll transmit your Power Up data now! Bye!" Marcus said.

"Thank you Marcus, bye!" I said as I promptly hanged up the Styler.

Shortly afterwards, Luana and I both got data for being able to reduce damage from Dragon attacks by three, while the other Power Up data reduced damage from Ice attacks by three. That means there's only twenty-three more quests to go!

"Great work dealing with those guys, Luana! What's the other quest open to us?" I said as Luana gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"The last quest for Pueltown involves us helping out a small store, according to the quest information, the owner says that a group of Chimecho shift clothes and food around quite often. The store is close to the Pokémon café and since it's only 3 P.M., perhaps we could head to the Pokémon café once we're done?" Luana said with a smile.

"Chimecho? They're usually very timid and never cause any trouble. As for going to eat when we're done with the quest, that's a great idea!" I said as we as we went back to where the Pokémon café was, noticing a store nearby.

Since this area was still being developed, most of the buildings were vacant and I could even imagine the three Rangers lurking around here whether it's day time or not, given how there's so few people working here and almost no one walking around. Eventually, we reached the store, it was all the way at the end of the area currently under construction and there were no streetlights up at this part yet. As Luana and I walked up to the store entrance, we saw that there was a man outside fixing up some of the flower pots in front.

"Excuse me sir, are you the owner of this store? We received a quest informing us there was an issue with some Pokémon." I said.

"Hello there, that's right, I'm the store owner. I've been having some problems with some Chimecho, can you two Rangers help me out? They haven't been damaging anything in the store but they have been moving around quite a lot of items which makes it tough for me to keep track of what's moved. Maybe if you two captured them, they would calm down!" The store owner said.

"Don't you worry, we'll go ahead and capture those Chimecho!" Luana said as we both headed inside.

Upon entering, we noticed that the store was in fact, quite a mess. Clothes were thrown around the store, vases were stacked on each other and food, such as berries, bread and Miltank meat were all thrown on the ground. Luana and I heard some rustling by the cash register and as we looked around the counter, the lights came off as money flew from the register, which made Pokédollars and coins fly everywhere as we got startled.

Peeking out from the counter wasn't just one or two Chimecho, but four of them. I gasped as I noticed that they were in excruciating pain, which could only mean the work of Team Dim Sun. They all started to fly around the store, as Luana and I did our best to try making loops around them, slowly filling their friendship meter as they stopped to take breaks every so often, their eyes making it easy to spot them. I was able to catch one of them after dodging berries that were being thrown at me, with the Chimecho calming down. Soon after, Luana was able to capture one after it tried fleeing through the door which made the last two Chimecho start flying around even more frantically than before.

Despite the two Chimecho attempting to fly faster so we wouldn't be able to capture them, they ended up crashing into each other, which Luana and I used to our advantage as we both captured the Chimecho. Once the four Chimecho were caught, they all calmed down as one of them turned the lights back on.

"Even though you Chimecho caused the store owner a lot of grief, I think he would be happy if you cleaned the store up for him. How does that sound?" I said.

The four Chimecho started twirling happily as they picked up everything that had been thrown down or otherwise knocked off the shelves. Within a few minutes, it was like the store was never even messed up in the first place.

"Since you all did such a wonderful job, let's go show the store owner that his store looks back to normal again!" Luana said as we all headed outside.

"Ah hello, you two Rangers are really something being able to capture those Chimecho! I'm curious though, why did the four of you trash my store?" The owner said.

"Because of me, I had those Chimecho ruin your store!" A Team Dim Sun grunt said as he came running out from the garbage bin at the side of the store, making the owner and the Chimecho hide behind us.

"Y-you're from Team Dim Sun, aren't you?! I can recognize that ugly uniforms! W-what do you want with me?" The owner said.

"What I needed from your store was to take it over, no one would suspect a Team Dim Sun member to be working here! I was going to knock you out and put you by that dumpster, but since these two Rangers are here, I'll eliminate them first!" The grunt said as he took out a Miniremo.

We heard a loud screech and the flapping of wings as Luana and I saw two Flygon approaching us. As the Flygon reached us, they immediately starting to fly fast, being able to dodge the loops we were making with our Stylers. When the Flygon stopped flying around briefly, we used that moment to make loops around them, avoiding the stationary twisters they made. We started to struggle for a while until we saw the Chimecho using their psychic power to hold the Flygon in place. Soon enough, we were able to capture both Flygon as they broke free from being mind controlled, flying back to their habitat. The Chimecho also floated back to their habitats, now having a peaceful look on their faces compared to before.

"No! I was going to eliminate you Rangers! I thought those Flygon were going to make it easy, but they didn't even do anything!" The grunt said as his Miniremo malfunctioned.

The grunt attempted to run away, but Luana and I were able to catch up to him, holding him down as he weakly struggled.

"You're not getting away, the Ranger Union wants to talk with you!" Luana said as I called Marcus.

"Hi Kellyn, hello Luana, what can I do for you guys?" Marcus said.

"We need another Staraptor to come to where we are, we have a rather vicious Team Dim Sun grunt with us." I said as the grunt finally gave up struggling while Luana glared at him.

"Nice work you two! I'll have a Staraptor come over right away, I'll also transmit your Power Up data! Bye!" Marcus said.

"Thank you Marcus, we appreciate it. Bye!" I said as I hanged up the Styler.

Within a few minutes, the Staraptor landed as I put the grunt in the harness, as soon as he was secured safely, the Staraptor flew off as the store owner came up to us.

"Wow, you Rangers are awesome! Thank you for dealing with that grunt, it seems that Team Dim Sun is getting more brazen, even attacking in the day time." The store owner said.

"You're welcome sir, it's no trouble at all. Are you going to be safe heading home after work? Luana and I can make sure you head home safely if you'd like." I said.

"I'll be able to reach home safely, but thank you for your concern, I'm actually hoping to expand the store later and bring more items to my store, such as food, cups and other items like blankets!" The store owner said.

"Sounds like a great idea, especially with how affluent Pueltown is becoming!" Luana said.

"That's right, now is one of the best times to have a business in Pueltown! Thank you both for your help. Goodbye!" The store owner said as we waved and headed back to the main part of town.

I checked my Styler and noticed we both received the Power Up data for getting an increased Capture Line. I also saw that the time was 3:30 P.M., meaning we would be able to get some lunch before going around to some different areas to see who else needed our help.

"Luana, did you see the Styler upgrade we just got? Our Capture Lines have increased, they'll help us with capturing groups of Pokémon compared to before!" I said as I happily jumped up and down, which made Luana giggle.

"I would say that's one of the best upgrades! it'll definitely come in handy. Before we go do more quests elsewhere, can we head to the Pokémon café and get some food?" Luana said.

"Sure, let's get something to eat!" I said as I took Luana's hand, running to the Pokémon café that was only twenty yards away.

As we entered the Pokémon café, we saw that it was a bit more lively compared to before as there were some chefs cooking food while a few customers were at some tables, sipping coffee and eating some snacks.

"Kellyn! Luana! It's good to see you two, are you here for some food?" John said as he came out from behind the counter.

"Hi, it's good to see you as well, John. Kellyn and I figured we would come here to eat before we continued working." Luana said.

"Wonderful, I'll go ahead and make your orders whenever you two are ready!" John said as he handed us menus and went to help some other customers while Luana and I decided on what to get.

"Hmm, the rice and vegetable pilaf sounds good, I think I'll order that along with some water. What are you getting?" I said, smiling at Luana, which made her blush.

"I'll order the same thing, the best part is we can order a small portion or a double portion and if we're somehow not able to eat it, we can always just take it back to the Ranger Union to finish it off!" Luana said as John came back.

"Are you two ready to order?" John said, notepad in hand.

"We are, we'll have two orders of the rice and vegetable pilaf with a glass of water. Make it a double please." I said.

"Let's see…double order of rice and vegetable pilaf, got it! I'll have your orders out soon." John said as Luana and I handed the menus back to him.

"I'm glad we were able to do so many quests, it feels good to help out people." I said.

"I know, I just hope Team Dim Sun and those three Rangers aren't actually working together, they're giving us a lot of work which keeps us on our feet, but they also put people and Pokémon in serious danger." Luana said as a waiter came back with our food and water.

"Your food is done, be careful, it's hot! Hope you two enjoy!" The waiter said as he went to the back of the café.

Luana and I ate our food, the rice was cooked perfectly and the baby carrots and sweet potatoes went well with the rice. Even though this was a double order, it took us about ten minutes to finish eating everything. When John noticed we were finished eating, he walked over to us with a surprised look on his face as he held two bowls in his hand.

"W-wow, you both eat fast, you should both try entering in a speed eating competition! Thank you so much for eating at the Pokémon café. As my way of thanking the both of you for saving my café when those ruffians tried taking it over, here's some dessert for you two. It's a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream with milk chocolate shavings, enjoy!" John said.

"Thank you very much, we certainly will!" I said as Luana and I ate the dessert.

When we were finished, Luana and I saw John helping some more customers and as he was finished, he handed us the bill. The price for everything was only five hundred Pokédollars, which we promptly paid as we gave a tip as well.

"Thank you so much for the dessert John, we appreciate it." I said as I handed the money to John.

"Thank you Kellyn, thank you Luana, please come again!" John said as we waved to him.

As we exited the café, I checked my Styler to see if we had any more quests to do, seeing that it was 3:50 P.M., we decided to explore Pueltown, when we continued walking, we saw a guard standing entrance to a dirt path.

"Hello there Rangers, good afternoon! This is the entrance to the Chroma Highlands, if you two are headed here, be careful, there's some dangerous Pokémon in this area!" The security guard said.

"Good afternoon, we'll be fine. Thanks for letting us know!" Luana said as we walked past the guard, noticing tons of trees in the area.

"This place seems rather eerie, I would even say it's creepy enough to the point where I feel that those three Rangers might come here around night time. Let's proceed carefully." I said as Luana grabbed my hand.

"Speaking of those three Rangers, where do you think they go during the day?" Luana said as she got closer to me.

"Hmm, I think that they just hide in a secluded location when it's daytime or change off into street clothes to blend in with the crowd. After all, we don't know what they look or sound like, all we know is that they all have brown hair and so do a lot of people at the Ranger Union. What do you think?" I said.

"That's a good point, those three are very sneaky and I could see them doing something like that. Considering that they can just blend in, there's always the chance that they do that in the daytime and when it turns to night, they go back into their Ranger uniforms." Luana said as we continued walking through the path leading to the Chroma Highlands.

Eventually, we saw a small log cabin and a Dodrio keeping a security guard some company. We figured getting some information from the security guard would be the best idea as we walked up to him.

"Hello there sir, we're sorry to bother you. We were hoping if you could tell us a bit more about the Chroma Highlands as we've never been there. The guard at the path entrance informed us some dangerous Pokémon were roaming around here. Also, have you seen any suspicious people lurking around here? They might be going solo or in a group of three, all we know is that they have brown hair." I said as the Dodrio walked up to me, I made sure to gently pat each head.

"Hi there, nice to see some Rangers walking around. There are some more Pokémon up ahead, such as Carnivine, Skarmory, Rapidash and a Bastiodon. They do chase after you but they don't attack too often. Neither me or the other guard have seen anyone walking around, you guys are the first to come here in a while. If you two are heading to the Chroma Highlands, then be careful, before people stopped coming here, they were complaining about some hazy black fog, it can damage the Stylers that Rangers have, but it doesn't seem to be too dangerous compared to the Vien forest fire." The guard said as another security guard came running out of the log cabin with a box.

"Sir, there's some black fog up ahead, it's very dangerous for anyone to go forward unless you have some ventilation masks. Here Rangers, please take these!" The second guard said as he took two masks out of the box.

"Thank you for your advice and the masks, we'll make sure to be careful." We said as we waved to the two guards as the one with the box headed inside.

"Since this seems serious enough to be considered a mission, how about we designate it as one?" Luana said.

"Good idea, the Pokémon who live here and the people who visit need our help in keeping Chroma Highlands safe!" I said as we both started to get ready.

Luana and I put the masks on and as we walked another thirty yards, we started to see some faint black fog. We could see only two Pokémon, a Skarmory that was resting nearby, and a Carnivine that was attempting to disguise itself as a plant, though with how little foliage was around here, it's disguise wasn't working too well.

As we continued to walk, the fog got thicker to the point that we could barely see three feet in front of us and Luana started coughing violently as her whole body shuddered while I started to cough as well, though not as violently.

"Luana! Lay down on the ground, this fog is too thick in this area!" I said, concerned for Luana's safety.

After a couple of seconds, Luana continued to cough as I had her lay flat on the ground. Eventually, she slowly started to recover her ability to breathe properly.

"W-what happened? I was only in that dense fog for a few moments and I suddenly started to cough horribly. You started to cough too, which made me very worried." Luana said as she started to tremble.

"Luana, that fog was the reason. Even with your mask on, it still made you cough to the point where you couldn't even head to the ground in order to avoid the fog because of how violently your body shook. Are you okay? Are you having any lung problems? When we head back to the Ranger Union, we'll get you checked out, I insist." I said.

"This fog…what could be causing it? I imagine that it's Team Dim Sun controlling a Pokémon. As for breathing issues, I'm better than before, I think getting a checkup once we head back is a good choice. What do we do about this fog? Should we head back, or try to get rid of it somehow?" Luana said.

"I think you're right, Team Dim Sun has been getting more brazen. This fog is hard to see through, but what I'm thinking is we can head back to where the fog is manageable and look around for any nearby Pokémon that might be causing it or can help us out. Maybe we can try crouching to keep our heads below the fog." I said as Luana and I started to crouch, doing our best to avoid getting anywhere near the fog.

We soon headed away from the denser part of the fog towards where we first encountered it, noticing how much of a difference it made as we were both able to breathe properly. We saw that the Skarmory was here, though the Carnivine was nowhere to be found.

When the Skarmory noticed us, it immediately started to give chase, with Luana starting to make loops around it. The Skarmory tried whipping up a few whirlwinds as it tossed them at us, as we dodged the attack, I saw that the whirlwinds were able to make some of the black fog dissipate. As the Skarmory tried attacking us with its wings, we both dodged it as Luana continued making loops around the Skarmory, capturing it quickly as our Styler information updated to show we were successful in capturing the Pokémon as we saw that its field move was Defog.

"Perfect, now we can get rid of this fog! Skarmory, use Defog!" Luana said as Skarmory whipped up multiple whirlwinds, making the fog completely vanish as it happily went to a little corner, taking a rest.

"Thanks for the help Skarmory! Great capture Luana, now that we can go onwards, let's see where that Team Dim Sun member is." I said as we looked around the area, happy to be able to see at a normal visibility again.

As we continued walking throughout the area, we noticed a Bastiodon wandering around, as well as a nearby cave. When the Bastiodon spotted us, it slowly walked up to me as I patted its head, despite how sturdy its face looked, it was surprisingly smooth. After I did so, the Bastiodon stood there for a few seconds as Luana and I were wondering why it was still there.

"Do…do you want me to capture you?" I said as the Bastiodon happily nodded its head.

As I made loops around the Styler, I couldn't help but smile as the Bastiodon simply stood there, it didn't even walk around or feign making an attack. When I finished making a few loops, the Bastiodon was caught and its data was registered, it was able to use Tackle on any object, its tackle had a strength of four, which would be very useful for anything nearby. Luana and I headed into the cave and noticed a small dwelling for a Pokémon, yet nothing else was inside, so we promptly left. As we headed near some stone steps, we started to hear yelling as a Team Dim Sun grunt came running down the steps with four Murkrow pecking him as he was eventually able to shoo them away.

"Hey! What do you two Rangers think you're doing?! You got rid of the fog I forced these Murkow to make!" The grunt said.

"What we're doing? I think you mean what you're doing, you're only being an annoyance to people and Pokémon." Luana said as she gritted her teeth, making the grunt cower back.

"Y-you're only making me a-angry. Y-you two are going to have to get t-through me in order to reach the R-ruins!" The grunt said as he shakily took out a Miniremo and only pressed a few keys, after a minute or so, we heard what sounded like a Primeape.

The Primeape came charging in as Luana and I were barely able to dodge it, I noticed steam coming out of its nose and took that as my opportunity to make some loops around it. However, the Pokémon wasn't interested in attacking us, but was interested in the Bastiodon.

"Bastiodon, use Protect!" I said as Bastiodon surrounded itself with a clear, protective barrier.

"Primeape, what are you doing?! Attack the Rangers, not the Pokémon!" The grunt said as he feebly tried to command the Primeape, eventually making it turn around as it started to charge at us.

The Primeape soon started to get tired as it took a rest momentarily, which the Bastiodon used to its advantage as it tackled the Primeape, knocking it to the floor. I proceeded to make circles around the Primeape, capturing it quickly as the grunt's Miniremo malfunctioned.

"Oh no, time to get out of here!" The grunt said as he ran up the stairs with Luana and I following him closely behind.

Luana and I reached the top of the steps, there was a giant stone slab in the center of the clearing along with some drag marks as we saw the grunt attempting to move the slab. We both cautiously approached the grunt as I prepared to tackle him.

"You're not getting away from us!" I said as I tackled the grunt to the ground with Luana and the Bastiodon behind me. I heard Luana quickly get out her Styler as she called Marcus.

"Hi Marcus, it's Luana and Kellyn, we need you to have a Staraptor pick up a Team Dim Sun grunt, we're located near Chroma Highlands, thanks Marcus, bye!" Luana said.

The grunt continued to weakly struggle even when we soon heard the flapping of wings as the Staraptor landed with a harness attached. Luana and I both put the grunt in the harness and once he was securely inside, the Staraptor flew off, with the grunt screaming the entire time. Luana and I went over to the large slab and had the Bastiodon move the slab, revealing a staircase leading to the Chroma Ruins as the Bastiodon slowly walked away.

"Bye Bastiodon, thanks for your help!" We said as we both ran up to the Pokémon, giving it a pat on the head as it smiled at us.

"Now that we're able to head into the Ruins, are you ready to explore? There has to be more grunts down there, especially since we already encountered one of them." I said.

"I'm ready to explore! I've never been to the Ruins before, I wonder what sort of Pokémon will be inside!" Luana said as we both walked down the staircase leading into the Ruins.

Being able to see once we headed inside wasn't too bad, but Luana and I huddled close to each other regardless, carefully maneuvering around as we avoided any stepping on Pokémon. After walking for about five minutes, we eventually came to a fork in the road and unfortunately, both paths were impassable because of giant boulders which meant we couldn't even explore the Ruins.

"That's odd, no one ever mentioned the Ruin paths being congested like this. Since we can't go onwards like we were hoping to, we can just head back outside and check our Stylers for any other quests that need to be done. Maybe there's a few new ones or additional ones we may have missed." I said as we both headed outside.

"That really was strange, from what I heard, the Ruins never experienced any cave-ins or other hazards, so the fact that both paths were impassable seems to me that Team Dim Sun is behind it, I could see them messing with the Ruins." Luana said.

"I agree, we'll let Chairperson Erma know, maybe once Sven and Wendy recover, all four of us can head back here to break the boulders, knowing Team Dim Sun, they'll probably be having some secret base of operations in the Ruins." I said as I checked my Styler, looking for any quests we haven't done yet though I couldn't find any.

"That's true, they seem to be getting much more devious. Are there any new quests for us yet?" Luana said.

"Sadly, we don't have any new quests, let's give these masks back to the guards and then walk around Pueltown!." I said.

"I love walking around Pueltown! Good thinking about returning the masks, I would feel bad if we ended up keeping them!" Luana said as we made our way to the log cabin where the security guards were standing around.

"Excuse me sirs, we're sorry to bother the both of you. We wanted to tell you that the fog has now been cleared, however, when we entered the Ruins, we couldn't progress onwards, as both pathways inside were caved in. Did any tremors or Pokémon cause a cave in happen recently?" I said as we handed the guards the masks back.

"Hello there, thanks for clearing the fog, we'll let the Ranger Union know! We haven't felt any tremors at all, so we're not too sure as to why the cave in happened. Sorry we couldn't help you two." The guard said.

"That's okay, if you two find out anything later on, please let the Ranger Union know, any information is important!" Luana said as we both waved to the guards.

As we made our way to Pueltown, I found a secluded bench as Luana and I sat down. I noticed there was one quest open to us…it was very oddly worded and was suspicious…this had to be a trap the three Rangers came up with. Luana noticed my confused expression and gently poked my nose, which made me smile.

"What's wrong? You already checked for quests, are you just surprised that there aren't any new quests open for us yet?" Luana said with a smirk.

"Hahah, no, that's not it, there's a new quest open…it's weird. The quest information says: Hello Rangers, we need help with lifting a heavy item to a log cabin located on Union Road. We're only able to do it at night time and we need one of you to come alone. We need help, so hurry up…that's what the quest information gives us to go on…I don't like it one bit. Luana, I know it's a trap, but I feel like telling Chairperson Erma is the best idea. Even with the danger, I want to go despite the risk and capture these three, at the same time, I don't want anything happening to you." I whispered as Luana's expression went from a smirk to fear.

"If we did intend to go, what would your plan be?" Luana said in a hushed voice.

"We could bring Pachirisu and Raichu and have them paralyze all three of them long enough until we get them tied up. What do you think?" I said.

"That's a good idea…but what if they don't show up, or what if they kill you knowing that I'll be nearby? We don't even know what these three look or sound like, they could be anyone here and all that we know is that their hair is brown, which they probably dyed by now." Luana said.

"Luana, I understand your concern, you're right. These three couldn't even show up and as we're walking back, they ambush us. We have nothing to even go off of besides hair color…and they're all dangerous individuals. I…I don't want anything happening to you, Luana." I said as I started to tremble, though I soon had Luana giving me a loving embrace.

"Kellyn, there's no need to be scared, you know I'll be safe once I'm with you. We'll get them soon enough, we haven't heard any reports of them attacking Pokémon or citizens, they only go for Rangers. Let's head back to the Ranger Union, it's 5:11 P.M., we should let Chairperson Erma know about the strange quest before it starts to get dark." Luana said as we locked arms with each other.

Walking through Pueltown is always great, since we're able to see the lovely scenery and how beautiful the town looks with all the townspeople and Pokémon. However, as Luana and I arrived near the entrance of Union Road, I felt a sense of dread, even though it was still early and there were at least twenty people in the area walking around or having picnics as some Pokémon eagerly walked over, wondering if they could have any food. Being around Union Road, even in broad daylight made me feel like panicking and I started to stiff up. I didn't feel like I could move a single muscle, Luana quickly took notice as she got in front of me, checking my face and arms to make sure I wasn't hurt.

"Kellyn? Are you okay, what's wrong?" Luana said with a concerned look on her face.

"I'm very scared, it's daytime and some of the darker parts of Union Road that are covered with trees, such as where most of those people are, makes me worried because of where that Ranger was before he tried attacking us." I said as I started to tremble, though I quickly had Luana give me a kiss on the lips and a strong embrace.

"Kellyn, we can walk through Union Road slowly if you'd like. I'll be here and I'll hold your hand as we walk. You're going to be safe." Luana said as she smiled at me.

I couldn't help but admire Luana as we both walked through Union Road, with her having a concerned look on her face whenever she glanced at me. Some of the people looked at us as we passed, most of them smiled while Luana happily waved to them as I smiled back. Within no time, we were inside the Ranger Union as Luana made it to Sven and Wendy's room. Since there were two chairs out, I decided to sit down while Luana went in the other one, giving me a kiss on the cheek. Even though we were inside the Ranger Union, I still felt a bit uneasy and I trembled slightly.


	21. Chapter 21: The three Rangers' Capture

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or the Ranger series.**

Chapter 21: The three Rangers' capture

"Kellyn? Are you okay? You look really scared, especially when you and Luana came in just now!" Sven said.

"Luana and I were about to walk down Union Road…when all of a sudden, I felt a strange sense of terror and was unable to walk, Luana had to help me all the way here." I said as Luana nodded.

"It's because that's where we got nearly got attacked by that Ranger. As we ran away, I didn't see what he was holding, but Kellyn saw that he had poison and rope in his hands. I helped Kellyn out and he's fine now, but I understand why he's so worried. Where's Mrs. Hajime?" Luana said as she held my hand.

"Mrs. Hajime had to step out for a bit, she said she had to tend to the wounds of the other three Rangers that were attacked, she'll be back soon." Wendy said.

"Kellyn, Luana, you guys are working yourselves too hard, Marcus told me that you two did three quests and solved the problem that was occurring in the Chroma Highlands! You both have to get some rest!" Sven said.

"I'm concerned about Kellyn, you and Wendy. The three of you need your rest more than I do, I'll go ahead and bring you guys something to eat!" Luana said as she and I both got up.

Luana was able to walk a few steps before she ended up nearly collapsing, I quickly ran over to Luana before she made contact with the ground and helped her back to her chair.  
"Luana, sit here and rest, you need a break too. You're not going to collapse as long as I'm around!" I said as I gave Luana a firm hug.

"Okay Dr. Kellyn, if you insist, I'll rest for a little while." Luana said with a giggle.

"Good, when you've actually recovered for a little bit, would you still want to head out tonight and look for those Rangers? If not, you and I can always do that whenever you're feeling better, your health is the most important." I said as I held Luana's hand.

"I'll be able to head out tonight once it's nighttime, don't worry. We will get those Rangers!" Luana said with a grin right as mom entered the room with some trays.

"Kellyn, Luana, welcome back! I figured that you two would come back, so I made all of you some food. Eat up!" Mom said as she handed us our food and some water, just as expected, the food smelled great.

"Thank you for the food!" We all said.

"You're welcome, you should all eat before the food gets cold!" Mom said.

The food consisted of diced grilled onions and carrots with a side of rice topped with some potatoes. Luana and I finished our food and water in a matter of minutes while Wendy and Sven were about halfway done, their eyes were once again, wide with surprise.

"It's like every time you guys eat, you both just eat faster!" Sven said.

"I know, those two are faster than a Yanmega!" Wendy said.

"Hahah! When Luana came over for dinner, she and Kellyn ate at the same pace, just like now, they ate quickly but delicately. I didn't think anyone could eat as fast as my son but Luana certainly can!" Mom said with a chuckle.

"I don't eat as fast as Kellyn, I just really enjoy food, that's all!" Luana said, blushing slightly.

"You definitely do eat as quick as I do! Sven and Wendy's eyes widen more every time they see us eat!" I said as everyone chuckled.

After a few more minutes, Sven and Wendy finished up their food as mom took the plates and put them back to the cafeteria. She came back after a few minutes with Chairperson Erma.

"H-hello Chairperson Erma, we're sorry, Luana and I weren't slacking off, we just finished eating and we were just about to continue walking around helping any citizens in need!" I said as I started to panic and wring my hands.

"Hello dearies! Kellyn, there's no need to worry, you and Luana did a lot of great work today! I was informed by two security guards that they can now walk around Chroma Highlands again all thanks to you and Luana. The both of you also did three quests and assisted some citizens as well as capturing some Team Dim Sun grunts and some goons, very marvelous work as always. Besides, people who work for the Ranger Union can't be fired, the only exception is the three Rangers we're on the lookout for. Even if any of the four of you could be fired, I certainly would never do so, you're all wonderful help to the Ranger Union." Chairperson Erma said with a smile.

"Thank you Chairperson Erma, I appreciate that. Speaking of the Chroma Highlands, Luana and I were able to open the path for the Ruins and when we continued walking, both of the pathways were inaccessible because of some giant boulders. We were hoping to go with Sven and Wendy once they recovered or the three Rangers are caught. I have a feeling that Team Dim Sun is behind the cave in, especially because we encountered a Team Dim Sun grunt there and the fact that the guards said there's never even been a cave in before." I said.

"Kellyn's right, something is suspicious about that cave in. Chairperson Erma, if it's okay with you, Kellyn and I would like to make catching those Rangers a top priority and once Sven and Wendy make a recovery, we'll head to the Chroma Ruins and investigate the boulders that are in the way." Luana said.

"Well dearies, that's a wonderful idea, catching those Rangers will be important so that the Ranger Union employees no longer have to be fearful. Wendy, Sven, once the both of you have gotten some rest and have made a full recovery, the both of you can assist Kellyn and Luana at the Chroma Ruins if you would like to do so." Chairperson Erma said with a smile.

"Sounds like a plan, we'll be more than happy to help our friends!" Sven said.

"That's right, they can't have all the fun exploring! We'd like to see the Ruins too!" Wendy said.

"Just make sure that when you guys do go to the Ruins, that you'll all be careful. If there are Team Dim Sun operatives in the Ruins, make sure you four have all the Friend Pokémon allowed, there's no telling how many of them could be there and they can outnumber you guys easily. I know all of you can handle them but stay safe!" Mom said.

"We'll be as cautious as we can be mom, thanks! Speaking of the Ruins, didn't you find a small black stone there Sven? Maybe more of those Shadow Crystals can be found there? Hopefully Vatona is finished determining what the rock is." I said.

"I did find a small crystal by the Ruins when I was walking with Wendy, maybe a grunt dropped it." Sven said.

"Vatona finished his research about an hour ago, he'll be waiting for you and Luana on the first floor, by the receptionist counter. That's all for now dearies, after Vatona gives you information on what the rock is, the both of you can let Sven and Wendy know and then you and Luana can look for those three Rangers once you're ready. Right now is 5:43 P.M. and it looks like it's getting ready to rain heavily, be careful, those three Rangers only come out at night. I'll be going to help Linda with some new equipment, if any of you need anything, just let me know!" Chairperson Erma said as she left the room.

"Mom, Sven and Wendy, don't you three worry, we're going to get those Rangers!" I said.

"The terrorizing that they've caused to the both of you, as well as all the Rangers in Almia is horrible and they'll be caught. I'm ready to go when you are, Kellyn!" Luana said.

"Good luck you two, make sure you guys don't beat those Rangers up too badly!" Wendy said as Sven chuckled.

"That's right, that's what I'll be doing since they decided to beat up on Kellyn and Luana!" Sven said.  
"You should wait in line then, I'm going to beat them up first, they attacked seven people, including my beloved Kellyn and Luana! Show those three whose boss, you two!" Mom said.

"Don't worry you guys, we'll make sure to rough them up a bit!" Luana said as we waved.

Luana and I jogged from Sven and Wendy's room to the second floor, we both stopped in the middle of the second floor as we both started thinking of the best way to get these three Rangers, considering that they're together, a simple Thunder Wave could work, but knowing them, they're probably crafty enough to wear clothing that makes them not impacted by Electric attacks.

"Luana, considering that it's going to rain, Raichu, Pachirisu and Buneary are going to be critical in catching these three. I don't want Vulpix getting hurt by the rain, especially because it'll be weakened, meaning it would be dangerous for it to go. At the same time, I'm wondering, what if these three have clothing that makes them unable to feel the effects of Pokémon moves, such as Thunder Wave? I would be worried if we had to go near them, they could all have some sort of weapon." I said.

"Hmmm, that's a good point. What if we have our Pokémon as distractions and we get the Rangers away from each other and ambush them one by one? Our Pokémon are quicker than those three and this would make it easier on us especially because our Pokémon can distract them by using moves or other tactics. What do you think?" Luana said as we made our way down the staircase.

"That's a great idea, there has to be something our Pokémon can do to get their attention. Let's talk to Vatona before we forget!" I said.

Vatona was talking with the receptionist by the front and gave a big smile and shook our hands once he saw us. All three of us walked over to one of the receptionist desks where no one was at.

"Hello Kellyn and Luana, nice to meet you two! I was able to do some analysis on that black stone Sven found and confirmed that it was in fact, a Shadow Crystal. Some more analysis found that it did come from the Chroma Ruins, and…it appears to have come from a much larger crystal given the way it was broken off. I heard from Marcus that the both of you plan to explore there when once Sven and Wendy recover. The four of you are remarkable Rangers and amazing people, but I suggest you all to be careful, there's a Pokémon that's said to be living deep in the Ruins, from what I've heard, it's very dangerous. You guys have faced many Pokémon before, but I have no idea what sort of Pokémon this one could be, or what type or attacks it may have. I was also informed that the two of you intend on capturing those three Rangers, be cautious around them, Union Road doesn't feel safe anymore. I would even go as far as to say most of Almia doesn't feel safe with those three still out there, please be careful." Vatona said.

"Thank you for the information Vatona, we'll make sure to let Sven and Wendy know about the Shadow Crystal and where it came from. We're going to get our Pokémon to help us bring those three Rangers in. Thanks for the advice!" Luana said.

"It's not a problem, I'm actually about to head to Wendy and Sven's room to let them know, that way you guys can focus on bringing in those three scoundrels. Good luck you two!" Vatona said.

"Thank you Vatona, we appreciate the help, bye!" I said as we both shook Vatona's hand and headed inside the Pokémon training room.

When we entered, we noticed that the lights were on and our Pokémon were sound asleep, so we made sure to enter without making any noise.

"Ben, Betty, are you guys here? We came by to say hello and pick up some of our Pokémon." Luana said in a hushed voice as Ben came out from the back room as the rain started to pour.

"Hello guys, good to see you two. We heard about you two and your friends getting attacked, is everyone okay? Betty stepped out to pick up some lunch, what Pokémon were you guys going to take with you?" Ben said as our Pokémon woke up, happily running over to us as we both hugged them.

"Hi guys, it's so nice to see you! We're going to be going on a very dangerous mission. Vulpix, we're so sorry but you can't come along, as you can hear, it's raining very heavily and while we would like you to join us, your safety is important. Please stay here with Ben, okay?" Luana said as Vulpix happily nodded.

"Everyone is doing okay, they're doing their best to recover. We going to take Pachirisu, Buneary and Raichu with us for a short while, we need to capture three Rangers who have been terrorizing the Ranger Union." I said.

"I'm glad to hear no one got hurt too badly! I heard about that, please be careful, they sound scary. Your Pokémon are free to take, they've already been trained, fed and they slept for a while. They're more than ready to help you guys out! If you two need anything else, just let me know, bye guys!" Ben said.

"Thanks Ben, tell Betty we said hello. Thanks for taking great care of our Pokémon, bye!" Luana said as we walked out of the Pokémon training room, Raichu, Pachirisu and Buneary happily following us.

"Great, now that we got our Pokémon, we need to devise a plan. How about we have Buneary use Charm or Attract on them? Once they start following Buneary, we can tell Pachirisu and Raichu to use Thunder Wave on them, though I'm still concerned they're unsusceptible to Electric moves, Buneary would still be able to work on them. How does that sound?" I said.

"That's an awesome idea. Buneary, when we give you a thumbs up, make sure to use either Charm or Attract to have those Rangers follow you. Pachirisu and Raichu, once you guys are able to see Buneary, shock those three Rangers! We can go ask the receptionist where to get some rope, it's too risky to buy some since it's dark. There has to be some in the Ranger Union!" Luana said as we went over to the receptionist's desk.

"Hi, Luana and I are heading out to capture those three Rangers, unfortunately, we don't have anything to actually restrain them with. Do you know where we can get something to hold them down with?" I said.

"Hello, Chairperson Erma actually just dropped off three bundles of rope, a couple of masks and two jackets, she said it's for the both of you. Good luck!" The receptionist said as she handed us three large ropes, masks and jackets.

"Thank you, we'll be back soon, bye!" Luana said as we headed out of the Ranger Union.

Luana and I put on the jackets which were big enough to conceal our uniforms and we both started to walk from the Ranger Union and went about thirty feet, this was close to where we last saw the Ranger and we both headed into the trees, making sure not to be spotted as Raichu and Pachirisu followed us, while Buneary was out in the open. When Luana and I observed our surroundings in the small clearing, we became worried because of how heavy the rain was pouring, while it didn't make the ground hard to walk in, we knew that we had to be quick, otherwise, any steps we made would make them notice us.

Luana and I did a stakeout as we both put the masks on and intently waited, rope in hand as minutes went by, and soon, what felt like hours. We were listening out for any noises walking as rain continued to pour all around us. Since it was raining, most of the Pokémon were seeking shelter in other parts of the Union Road, which meant that the only Pokémon that could be seen from Union Road was Buneary. Since Buneary was four feet away from us, Luana and I gave Buneary the thumbs up so that it can start hopping around before the Rangers actually arrived. Huddling close to Luana for warmth was something that we both needed, especially since there's no way to know if those Rangers will be coming by anytime soon. I don't know what I would do without Luana, I think I'll give her a present once we capture these three Rangers and I decide what to get her. She's such an amazing and dependable person.

Eventually, Luana and I heard some footsteps approaching as Buneary continued to hop around, pretending to be disoriented. We both crept down lower than before just in case whoever was approaching ended up seeing us. As the footsteps got closer, we saw silhouetted figures come into view and even though their entire bodies were covered with dark gray jackets, we could tell that these three were the crooked Rangers everyone was looking for.

"What an adorable little Buneary! Hello there, where did you come from? I've only seen a few Buneary by the Ranger School!" A cloaked female said as Buneary winked at them, indicating to us that Charm worked successfully.

"It's so fluffy! Would you like to come with us? The boss can always use more Pokémon!" The second female said as she held Buneary.

"It is rather soft looking, let's take this Buneary to the boss right away, it's so adorable!" The male said as Buneary jumped out of the second female's arms and started to hop in our direction.

"Hey, come back Buneary!" One of the females said as they started to approach us.

Luana and I both patted Raichu and Pachirisu on the heads, indicating for them to release a strong Thunder Wave. The move was successful which made me relieved that their clothes weren't Electric proof. Luana and I quickly pounced on two of cloaked figures, tackling them to the ground as we tied them up, making sure their hands and feet couldn't move while we called Marcus.

"Hi, we can't talk for long, we need two Staraptors to where we're located ASAP. Bye, thank you!" I said, quickly hanging up. We wouldn't want Marcus to get hurt or killed in the event that these three have more friends working in the Ranger Union or other areas.

"How did you two manage to tie us up?! We're here to hurt Rangers, we have no quarrel with citizens or Pokémon!" One of the females said while the other didn't say anything.

"W-who are you two!? I thought we were the only dangerous people around here!" The male said.

Luana and I only smirked in response, making the two females cower while the male grimaced. Within no time, the Staraptors landed and Luana and I got one of them up on the Staraptor's backs together, though the other one to struggle, so I helped Luana with one of them. After they were properly secured to the harnesses, they started to scream as the Staraptors flew off. As Luana and I both went to tie up the male Ranger, he was able to break free from paralysis as he started running away from us, we both pursued him until we were able to catch up with him. The Ranger tried throwing the bottle of poison from last time and I was narrowly able to dodge it as the poison damaged the grass where I was initially standing. I used this to my advantage as I tackled him to the ground and even as I was able to do so, he attempted to wrestle away from me. After a brief struggle, I was able to get the Ranger to his feet, since he continued to struggle the entire time, Luana got the rope as she lifted the Ranger up in the air with one arm, as his legs flailed wildly, Luana became irritated as she effortlessly held his legs in place while I tied him up.

"P-put me down right now! Let me go this instant!" The male Ranger said as Luana unceremoniously dropped him on the ground.

Luana and I picked the Ranger up and started to walk with him, we both went over to where Buneary, Raichu and Pachirisu were and motioned for them to go back to the Ranger Union's Pokémon training room, which they did as they sprinted back. Luana and I brought the Ranger into the Ranger Union ourselves, reaching there in ten minutes. When we entered, no one was in the lobby, though when Luana and I were heading up to the staircase, we barely saw the receptionist hiding behind the counter, giving us two thumbs ups which made us grin. Within no time, Luana and I walked to the third floor and saw Chairperson Erma pacing back and forth nervously as Marcus and Linda attempted to calm her down. We made sure to close the Ranger's ears so he wouldn't hear anything.

"Chairperson Erma, please relax, they're both strong and amazing individuals. They'll have all three of them captured!" Linda said.

"Linda's right, Luana and Kellyn are good at fighting, that last Ranger is no match for them, they already got two of the Rangers!" Marcus said.

"I know dearies, I'm still worried for their safety because of how brutal those horrible Rangers have been." Chairperson Erma said as she sat down in the middle chair and drank some coffee.

"Hello, we're back, can we please have some coffee too?" I said as Marcus, Linda and Chairperson Erma looked at us, their expressions a mixture of surprise and happiness as we took off the masks and jackets.

"Welcome back guys! You did it, the both of you captured all three Rangers!" Marcus said as all three of them gave us a hug.

"Now that all three of them are here, please take this Ranger to the second floor in the first door, that's our interrogation and examination room. We'll grill them on any information they know and since you two captured them, you two will question this one. Sven and Wendy are already questioning the other two. It's 9:20 P.M. so you two can question him for quite a while. Great work you two!" Chairperson Erma said.

"Sven and Wendy are better?! Great, we were very worried about their condition. We'll make sure to question this guy, don't worry Chairperson Erma, thank you!" Luana said.

"I'm glad that they recovered, I hope they don't work too hard!" I said.

"I know, they simply needed to rest a bit from their injuries. Wendy's leg has actually improved immensely compared to earlier, but she still shouldn't put much strain on her leg until she makes a full recovery." Chairperson Erma said.

"We understand, thank you for letting us know, Chairperson Erma!" We said as we took the Ranger down to the second floor, placing him inside the first room.

Once inside, there was a sturdy wooden table with a notepad on top along with three chairs, two of them being closest to the door we entered from while there was a large glass window in the back, with a door next to it. I assumed the glass was so that Chairperson Erma or any other interviewers could check up and see how we were doing. We put the Ranger down in the chair and closed the door, making sure it was locked. He started to grumble since he was still tied up, Luana and I sat across from him.

"Would you like to ask him questions, or should I?" I said.

"Hmm, we could both ask him questions, this will be fun." Luana said as she ripped off the Ranger's mask.

Luana and I were a bit surprised when we saw that the Ranger looked very similar to me, while he didn't look identical, people could certainly confuse us at first glance if we were side by side. The Ranger's hair was brushed forward whereas mine is always combed upwards and his jaw line was a slightly broader compared to mine, however, his eyes certainly didn't resemble mine, they were filled with hate.

"Questions huh? You two dolts want to ask me questions? Go ahead." The Ranger said, his voice raspy as if he hadn't slept in days.

"Why don't we start with your name, do you mind sharing it?" I said.

"My name…is Elliott Stevens. Can I go now?" Elliott said.

"No, you can't. You're staying here for now." I said, keeping a close eye on him as he continued to mumble.

"Elliott, what made you want to start attacking other Rangers? Do you have something against the Ranger Union?" Luana said as Elliott scoffed.

"You and that idiotic Ranger next to you…what was his name? Oh yes, Kellyn and you, Luana. I despise the both of you immensely. If Kellyn didn't come to your aid, me and my two partners would have been more than happy to get a Pokémon to attack you. Since he was there, we couldn't attack you ourselves as the two of them were waiting in the cave even though I told those fools to stay with me so we could overpower you. Those two friends of yours and those other three Rangers we attacked were just for fun. If Kellyn was alone, we would have killed him so the fact that you were there meant we weren't able to." Elliott said with a smirk as Luana started to get angry, though I put my hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"I understand, tell us, Elliott, did you or your cohorts have any outside help from anyone, such as friends or family? You guys evaded the Ranger Union for quite a while, tell us about that." I said as I continued writing in the notepad.

"Hmph, no thanks." Elliott said as he turned his head, though Luana grabbed his face and forced him to turn to us.

"Listen Elliott. We need to know any information you can tell us, if you don't, I'll get very angry." Luana said.

"Okay, okay, we didn't get any assistance from anyone, we survived in the Vien forest and other areas for a while, eating some food we stole from the Ranger Union before we ran off. Make sure you understand what I'm saying, Kellyn, you dimwitted Ranger." Elliott said as he started to laugh which only made Luana scowl, which made Elliott tremble in fear.

"Elliott, you're lying. Unless you guys eat like Taillows, there's no way three of you could survive for that long with only a little bit of food. Did the three of you have any outside assistance?" Luana said as Elliott started to laugh.

"Hahah, you're just as worthless as ever! You and Kellyn are Top Rangers and I find that hilarious, you two are so idiotic and lazy. I've said it before, Luana, you're a sorry excuse for a Ranger, I'm surprised they even made you one!" Elliott said as I slammed my fist on the table, splintering the wood.

I was enraged that this fool thought he could insult Luana as I grabbed his restraints and hoisted him in the air. Elliott was only able to respond by trembling in fear, though I was able to calm down once Luana put her hand on my shoulder as I put Elliott back on his chair.

"O-okay, s-so we got help from T-team Dim Sun, t-they gave us f-food and s-shelter the entire time. We got help f-from the admin…Ice." Elliott said fearfully as I glared at him.

"Thank you, we don't have any more questions." Luana said as were both about to exit the room, until the door on the opposite side of the room opened as we saw Chairperson Erma, Wendy and Sven.

Wendy had a small cast around her leg as Sven and Chairperson Erma helped her across the room, even then, they had grins on their faces as they walked over to where we were as we all exited the room together, we then went to the third floor and saw Marcus and Linda answering some questions that were being asked by a pair of Top Mechanics. Sven and Wendy gave us both hugs while Chairperson Erma smiled.

"Hi guys, you both did great asking Elliott all of those questions. You're pretty terrifying when you're mad Kellyn, remind me to never get you angry!" Wendy said.

"Thanks, we tried our best to get some information out of him. Also, Wendy, make sure not to get me angry, there, I reminded you!" I said as we all laughed.


	22. Chapter 22: Ranger School teachers: Pt 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Pokemon series.**

Chapter 22: Ranger School Teachers?! Part one

"Wonderful work dearies, now that those three Rangers have been captured, it's time for you two to relax. It's only 9:35, so it's still early. Because of your hard work today, Kellyn and Luana are promoted to Ranger Rank 7, you can both have up to five friend Pokémon each now! Tomorrow, Kellyn and Luana will be going to have some fun at the Ranger School where they'll…be teaching classes about being Rangers for a whole day!" Chairperson Erma said with glee.

"M-m-me?! Teaching at the Ranger School for an entire day?! B-but Chairperson Erma, I don't have any qualities to be a teacher, I'm not capable of teaching anyone anything! Can I call in sick or something?" Luana said nervously.

"Luana, it'll be fun! Besides, I'll be going with you and it'll be nice to see Mrs. April, Principal Lamont and Janice again!" I said as I locked arms with Luana, which made her much less panicked than before.

"See dearie, no need to worry at all, Kellyn's going to be there! The upcoming Rangers at the Ranger School will be more than happy to learn from both of you!" Chairperson Erma said.

"Chairperson Erma is right, Luana. You and Kellyn are very experienced Top Rangers and can definitely provide some insight to those at the Ranger School!" Sven said as Wendy nodded.

"See Luana? Just relax, you're going to be with Kellyn so there's no need to panic!" Wendy said.

"I'll try, thanks everyone. We'll be heading to bed now, good night everyone!" Luana said as we started to head downstairs.

"Ah, Kellyn, Luana, I have some good news to share with you both. It'll take just a moment, I know you're both tired." Chairperson Erma said as we followed her to the cafeteria, where for the first time, it was actually completely empty.

"Yes Chairperson Erma, what's the good news, how come we're in the cafeteria?" I said.

"Well, I figured it would be best to come here since no one would be around. Luana, Kellyn, the good news I have is that you'll be receiving new outfits, both of yours have gotten quite dirty, I assume it's because you two were waiting in the rain for those crooked Rangers for a while." Chairperson Erma said as we noticed our uniforms were in fact, rather filthy and were covered in mud, our shoes were caked with mud as well.

"Chairperson Erma, I sincerely apologize for our unkempt uniforms, I was so focused on getting those three Rangers, that I didn't notice how messy our uniforms were. I thought the jackets would have kept them dry!" I said.

"Kellyn, please don't worry! You and Luana will receive brand new uniforms, free of charge, of course. I'll have them ready by tomorrow morning!" Chairperson Erma said with a smile.

"Thank you Chairperson Erma, we truly appreciate your generosity! We'll be heading to bed now, good night!" Luana said.

"Thank you, it's a good thing I didn't buy a new uniform! Good night Chairperson Erma!" I said.

"It's no problem at all, good night dearies!" Chairperson Erma said as we all left the cafeteria.

Chairperson Erma went upstairs while Luana and I headed to our room.

"Luana, you'll be fine, I know what'll cheer you up, what if we bring all of our Pokémon with us tomorrow? They'll be more than happy to run around and have fun!" I said as we headed inside.

"That would certainly make me feel much less stressed, thank you Kellyn!" Luana said with a grinned.

I quickly went to the bathroom, did my business and changed off from my Ranger uniform and into my Eevee pajamas. As I was heading to bed, I saw Luana's uniform hanging on the dresser while I went ahead and did the same thing. I took off the light and climbed into bed, as I started to feel myself fall asleep, I felt a hand creep up to my face as a finger repeatedly poked my nose. I turned to see Luana smiling at me as she poked me once again.

"AHHH! Luana! You keep scaring me!" I said as Luana started to giggle.

"Sorry! I just wanted to thank you for today, being able to catch those horrible Rangers and questioning them was exciting! I'm just really nervous about teaching the Ranger School tomorrow, I'm scared." Luana said.

"Luana, I wouldn't have been able to capture those three Rangers if it wasn't for you. We'll be ready for the Ranger School tomorrow, don't worry! Good night Luana, love you." I said as I gave her a kiss on the cheek which made her blush.

"Thank you, I feel more relaxed now. Good night Kellyn, love you too." Luana said as we huddled together as I felt myself falling asleep.

In the morning, I woke up feeling energetic, since Luana was still asleep, I kissed her on the nose and went outside of the room, making sure not to make a sound. As I was walking back and forth, slightly nervous about teaching at the Ranger School, I noticed two sets of Top Ranger clothing on a pair of hangers, with a note attached to one of them while I saw two pairs of shoes on the ground.

"Dear Kellyn and Luana, here are your new Ranger uniforms and shoes, both of your uniforms are almost identical. I hope you two enjoy them!" I said as I read the note Chairperson Erma left us.

I went back inside the room and saw Luana rubbing her eyes as she sat up on the bed.

"Good morning Kellyn, are those our new uniforms?" Luana said with glee.

"Good morning Luana, they are! I can't wait to try them on!" I said as I went into the bathroom and changed into my new uniform and new shoes.

The difference between my old uniform and the new one is that the new one had a dark blue stripe going down both sides, whereas the old one didn't. It was a simple change, but I thought it looked nice. I headed out of the bathroom and saw Luana was already in her new uniform and brand new shoes, which was very different from her old uniform, which was a long dress with a yellow stripe on both sides, it looked identical to mine besides her shorts being a little shorter. I thought she looked wonderful in it, she really looked determined to face any bad guys now as she turned to face me, a noticeable blush on her face.

"I like how you look in your new uniform, it looks very stylish! How does mine look?" Luana said as she winked.

"Y-you look fantastic!" I said as I felt my face get hot.

Luana got closer to me, with a smile on her face as she leaned in and gave me a kiss on the lips.

"Thank you, the pants certainly feel different! I'm going to get ready, it'll take a few minutes, but we'll leave once I'm done!" Luana said as she ran into the bathroom.

After a short while, Luana exited the bathroom and we both headed out of the room, making sure to squeak the Eevee toy and see if Sven and Wendy were awake. We waited for a few minutes before Sven opened the door.

"Hi guys, good morning! Woah, awesome uniforms, you two look really great in them!" Sven said as Wendy came up to the door.

"Good morning Kellyn and Luana, new uniforms? Hopefully those are waterproof!" Wendy said.

"Good morning Sven and Wendy, maybe they are waterproof! We just wanted to say bye before we headed to the Ranger School with our Pokémon!" Luana said.

"That's right, we were going to get some breakfast upstairs, do you guys want to eat with us?" I said.

"Breakfast? Sure, let's go ahead and get something to eat, I'm hungry!" Sven said as we all went to the cafeteria.

Luana and I quickly got some trays and plates and we noticed delicious chocolate chip pancakes, we both picked up ten each along with a little bit of syrup, two cups of milk and two Sitrus berries each as we sat down, waiting for Sven and Wendy. They both shortly arrived with trays and plates of their own, which had three pancakes, syrup, and two Oran berries though when they saw the food we had, their eyes widened like usual.

"I'm still surprised with how much you two can eat, it's amazing!" Wendy said.

"I agree, Kellyn and Luana love to eat! I was wondering though, how did you manage to destroy that table, Kellyn? That thing was built by Mr. Woodward and his stuff doesn't break!" Sven said.

"Well, when Elliott kept insulting Luana, it really angered me, especially since we realized that he was in fact, the Ranger whose been continuously attacking us every time. I was surprised Chairperson Erma didn't get upset at me for destroying the table!" I said.

"We were all very impressed with you and Luana, even as Elliott tried getting you guys angry, for the most part, it didn't work. It's a good thing that table wasn't his face!" Sven said.

"Thanks guys, we're just glad the Rangers, people and Pokémon can feel safe again." Luana said.

"Since our pancakes are getting cold, let's eat!" I said as Luana and I ate our pancakes, finishing them in a few minutes as we ate our berries and drank our milk just as quickly.

I couldn't but smile as Sven just finished his first pancake while Wendy was halfway done with her first. We patiently waited for them to finish eating their breakfast as they both struggled to finish their Oran berries.

"Are you guys okay? You didn't take all that food to compete with us, did you?" I said.

"Hahah, no, we were really hungry, just not as hungry as you guys!" Sven said.

"Now that we've finished eating, would you guys like to head downstairs with us? We're going to leave once we pick up our Pokémon so we figured you two would want to say bye since we'll be at the Ranger School all day. I'm so anxious, almost as much as when I was having dinner at Kellyn's house." Luana said.

"Sure, we can head downstairs! Luana, you and Kellyn have dealt with some scary things such as dangerous Pokémon that were mind-controlled, Team Dim Sun and dancing. Try to relax!" Wendy said as we put our trays on the counter and exited the cafeteria.

"Really Wendy, dancing? I wouldn't say that was really scary, not being able to finish food is scary!" I said as we all laughed.

After walking downstairs, we headed into the Pokémon training room as we saw our Pokémon vigorously training. Raichu and Pachirisu were practicing their tackles, while Buneary tried using Jump Kick, Vulpix was by a special fireproof area where it could practice its Flamethrower. When they noticed us, our Pokémon immediately started circling around us, eager to play and get hugs from us. Luana and I gave our Pokémon their hugs as we set them down gently. I walked up to the counter and was surprised to not see Ben or Betty, so I knocked on the counter in case they were doing inventory or filling out paperwork. I looked behind me and smiled as I saw Luana playing with Raichu while Sven and Wendy were playing with Pachirisu, Buneary and Vulpix. I turned back around to see Betty with a clipboard in her hand.

"Hello Kellyn, nice to see you! Are you and Luana here to pick up your Pokémon?" Betty said.

"Hello Betty, good to see you. That's correct, Luana and I would like to take all of our Pokémon with us today. Where's Ben, is he out sick today?" I said.

"Okay, I'll make sure to note that you're both bringing all your Pokémon, as for Ben, he's visiting his family today. He hasn't seen them ever since he started working for Team Dim Sun and Chairperson Erma decided to give him the whole day off, whereas I'll be seeing my family tomorrow! Your Pokémon have all been fed and finished their training as well! If you two need anything, please let me know! Bye guys!" Betty said.

"We're glad to hear you and Ben will be getting a day to relax and see your families! Thanks for taking care of our Pokémon, bye Betty!" I said as we all exited the room with our Pokémon happily following.

"Sven, Wendy, we'll be going to the Ranger School now. We'll be there in no time as we'll be heading on a Staraptor, though Kellyn and I will be taking the scenic walk once it's night time since we'll no longer have to fear those Rangers. If you guys need anything, please call us." Luana said.

"That sounds very romantic, great idea guys! Hold on…are you one of you planning on becoming the new Flying Ranger?!" Wendy said, alarmed.

"Don't worry Wendy, we're not! Though we can understand why you got the title, it's certainly fun to ride on a Staraptor!" I said.

"Good, I already have Sven going on Staraptors with me so we'll both become Flying Rangers!" Wendy said, a small blush on her face.

"That's right! It was really scary for me at first, but Wendy helped me with not being as scared of flying on Staraptors. Wendy and I will help some citizens today, hope you guys enjoy the Ranger School!" Sven said.

"I understand what you mean, I'm glad Wendy and you can enjoy how great Staraptors are. We'll enjoy the Ranger School, bye guys!" I said as we waved to them and headed out of the Ranger Union.

Luana and I looked around for a Staraptor and noticed one slowly flying around by the river. I immediately used my Capture Disc and made loops around the Staraptor, catching it almost instantly. Luana jumped on the Staraptor first and we both helped our Pokémon on the Staraptor after everyone was safely on, I got on the Staraptor.

"Staraptor, please take us to the Ranger School!" I said as we started to fly, reaching the Ranger School in a matter of minutes. After we landed in front of the Ranger School gate, I got off Staraptor as I helped the Pokémon off, while Luana hopped off with the Staraptor flying away afterwards.

"We're…we're at the R-Ranger School now, are you ready, Kellyn?" Luana said as she tensed up.

"Luana, I'm going to be here with you, there's no need to worry, okay?" I said as I gave Luana a hug, which made her relax.

"Thanks Kellyn, I'll try to not be so scared!" Luana said happily as we opened the gate, letting our Pokémon through.

After we walked through the gate and closed it, we headed up the steps and saw that the Ranger School was still the same, there was still the same small building off to the left that I remembered learning how to capture a small Pikachu as well as learning how to do a Target Clear. Luana and I walked up to the Ranger School and noticed that for the most part, it was the same, except that there was an additional part that was built recently. As we headed inside, we noticed that there were quite a few security guards walking around, as well as a metal gate inside. When we entered, a security guard walked up to us.

"Hello there, I take it that you two are here to teach the Ranger School today?" The guard said.

"Hi, that's right, we were told to come here today. Do you happen to have any information for us? We were just told to teach the Ranger School, but we weren't informed as to how many students or anything in particular." I said.

"Yes, the both of you will be teaching every student at the Ranger School! I just need to get some information such as your names and occupation. Please follow me." The guard said as we walked over to an area that had a notepad for any visitors.

"Wow, this is different from when I went to Ranger School, I assume that the extra security is because of Team Dim Sun?" Luana said as she wrote her name and occupation down.

"That's correct, Team Dim Sun has made Principal Lamont cautious, so he installed this new area. Now let's see…Luana Rakua…Top Ranger for the Ranger Union?! Very impressive!" The guard said.

"The good thing is that it still looks like the same school! I'll be excited to teach today!" I said as I wrote my name and other details on the notepad.

"Good thing you're happy to teach, Principal Lamont and Mrs. April are going to be happy to see you guys! Okay, Kellyn Hajime…also a Top Ranger for the Ranger Union, both of you are Rank 7 as well? Very amazing, you two are all set! Let me just get you both your visitor passes, the both of you just have to head to Principal Lamont's office." The guard said as he went to a small printer nearby and gave us our visitor passes after we waited for a few minutes.

"Thanks for the help, we'll head there right now!" Luana said as we went inside Principal Lamont's office.

Upon entering, we saw that the room was the same as before, with multiple desks and laptops as well as some snacks in the corner on a small table. Principal Lamont's office was really a large desk with some paper on top but he still liked calling it his office anyways. Luana and I walked over as his back was turned to us and as we approached closer, he continued to fix any paperwork.

"Hello Principal Lamont, it's great to see you! How have you been?" I said as Principal Lamont turned around and smiled.

"Kellyn, Luana! It's so good to see the both of you, I've been trying my best to keep this small school safe from any Team Dim Sun operatives who might try to attack it. Sorry about all the extra security, I hope it wasn't an annoyance." Principal Lamont said as he shook both of our hands.

"We can understand that, we're ready to teach today!" Luana said.

I looked at Luana worriedly, she may have sounded happy, but she was definitely nervous from her expression. I put my arm around her shoulder and poked her nose, which made her smile.

"Wonderful, we're glad that such a lovely couple will be teaching our school today, everyone will be by the Pledge Stone! I need to set some things up, so I'll head over there now, come whenever you two are ready!" Principal Lamont said as he exited the room.

After Principal Lamont left, Luana started to fidget with her thumbs. It made me sad to see her so nervous, so I placed my hand on her cheek and then leaned forward, giving her a soft kiss on the lips as she started to blush heavily, which made me smile.

"Are you nervous now?" I said, grinning.

"Yes, I'm still pretty nervous." Luana said, as she smirked and gave me a firm kiss on the lips.

"W-what about now?" I said, my face feeling hot.

"Much better than before, thanks!" Luana said as she winked at me and took my hand as we walked outside of the Ranger School.

We both headed to the fields where we saw some Pichu and Bidoof wandering around and noticed the staircase leading down to the Pledge Stone. Luana held my hand tighter as we saw how many students were waiting for us, there had to be at least two hundred of them!

"Luana, you're holding my hand really tight. Please don't break it!" I said with a smile as Luana giggled.

"Oops, I didn't think I was using only a fraction of my strength!" Luana said.

"O-only a fraction?!" I said, surprised.

"That's right! If I used all my strength, I could probably be able to move the Ranger Union!" Luana said in a serious tone before she started to giggle more.

"You're funny, Luana! If you feel more relaxed now, we can head down to the Pledge Stone." I said, chuckling as Luana smiled.

"I…I feel better now, thank you, Kellyn." Luana said as we both walked down the staircase.

I checked my Styler and saw that it was only 2:25 P.M., since we would be teaching here for the remainder of the school day, which was only for a few hours, I was glad Luana and I got food before we left. As we reached near the Pledge Stone, I saw Mrs. April and Janice by a large table filled with all sorts of food and drinks on top while Principal Lamont was in front of the Pledge Stone and looked at the crowd before making his announcement.

"Hello everyone, I'm pleased to say we have not just one, but two extraordinary Top Rangers. They once attended our small Ranger School and they were more than happy to teach today. Please show them respect as they took time out of their schedules in order to visit us. Without any further ado, I'll step aside so they may introduce themselves!" Principal Lamont said as he went over to the table.

"Hello there, my name's Kellyn and this is my beloved partner, Luana!" I said as Luana trembled slightly.

"H-hi, and these are our amazing Partner Pokémon!" Luana said.

Our Partner Pokémon started to walk towards the crowd as some people gently petted them and after being petted by some of the class, they walked back to us.

"Our Partner Pokémon are essential to Rangers because…" I said before I noticed some students snickering.

Luana continued to tremble, so I locked arms with her in order to calm her down, though a few people started to snicker even as Mrs. April tried to get them to quit laughing.

"Now, now, have some respect for our wonderful Top Rangers." Mrs. April said, though some of the class still continued to laugh.

"Hahah, she's such a coward, look at how she's shaking!" A boy said.

"Excuse me, is there something funny?" I said, slightly annoyed as I shot them a glare.

"W-we just thought you locking arms with her was a bit funny, considering how much she's shaking. T-that's all!" A girl said, her voice shaky.

"That's funny? Of course Luana's shaking, we both came here today because we want to make sure you all understand what it is to be a Ranger, yet you and your friends keep laughing at her. Being a Pokémon Ranger is extremely dangerous and you should be happy every Ranger in Almia, Fiore and Obilivia is doing their best to keep every citizen safe! Even though some of them may give us attitude or demean us, you're all still important to us. If you and your group of friends keep laughing at my gorgeous partner, we'll leave and won't come back to teach at the Ranger School. Don't call her a coward just because she's a little scared of being here, Luana's an amazing Top Ranger that's faced several dangers along the way. How do you expect to learn anything if you don't listen?!" I said as I felt my anger boiling as the group stopped laughing and simply looked down at the ground.

"W-we're sorry, we won't laugh again, we would very much like for you two to stay so we may learn. W-we apologize, Ms. Rakua, we did not mean t-to upset you or belittle you." The girl from earlier said as she started trembling from fear.

"That's okay, just understand that we want you guys to learn about being Rangers, as Kellyn said, the occupation is very dangerous as some Pokémon aren't used to people and will definitely attack you upon noticing you. As long as you guys don't insult Kellyn, none of you would see my anger, which is just like his." Luana said as she grinned, which made the group tremble.

"Sorry for the brief interruption, but that goes to show you why you don't make Kellyn or Luana angry. As for the four of you who chose to make fun of Ms. Rakua, I'll make sure that all of you help out Janice, she'll make sure you four do hard work." Mrs. April said.

"Ah, Mrs. April, while these four were certainly disrespectful, I think they learned their lesson when Kellyn yelled at them." Luana said.

"I agree Mrs. April, hopefully they learned to respect such great Rangers! Please continue, Kellyn and Luana!" Principal Lamont said happily while our Pokémon walked near the food table and sat down.

"Will do Principal Lamont, thank you! Partner Pokémon for instance, are essential to Rangers because of their Poké Assists. While Friend Pokémon are also useful to us, once their Poké Assist runs out, they're released and if you want to continue using that particular Pokémon, you must capture it again." I said.

"Sometimes, if a Pokémon feels a close bond with a Ranger, they will join as a Partner Pokémon, which can have their Assists used repeatedly. The Partner Pokémon can be any Pokémon that feels a close bond with a Ranger, as all of you can infer, Partner Pokémon are different from Friend Pokémon and are never released once their Poké Assists run out, though they will still need to gain their energy back. While you can only have one Partner Pokémon at a time, you can have a set amount of Friend Pokémon with you depending on your Ranger Rank. For instance, Kellyn and I are Rank 7 Top Rangers, which means that we can carry five Friend Pokémon each. So do your best as Rangers, it's important to help out citizens, Pokémon and protect nature!" Luana said.

"That's correct! If you decide to work at the Ranger Union, you can actually have Partner Pokémon work as Ranger Union Pokémon, and they will assist the Ranger Union whenever their Ranger doesn't require them at the moment. That's why you see Raichu and Vulpix with these scarves that are emblazoned with the Ranger Union logo. Whenever we're out on a mission, they stay back and help out with anything the Ranger Union needs. Before we go on to the next segment, does anyone have any questions?" I said, happy that Luana was relaxed now.

"Hello there Rangers! I have a question for the both of you! Would you two like to be humiliated?" A man said.


	23. Chapter 23: Ranger School Teachers: pt 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon**

Chapter 23: Ranger School Teachers! (Part two)

Following the voice, Luana and I saw that the man was none other than a Team Dim Sun grunt as he came running down the staircase with a Miniremo in his hands as our Partner Pokémon got behind us. I instinctively stepped in front of Luana as everyone cowered in fear of the grunt as he casually walked up to the table.

"Oooh, Magikarp fillet, how delicious! Now then, time to see what Pokémon to attack you two…" The grunt said as he ate some food and hit a few keys.

Within a few moments, we heard a ferocious roar as we saw a Kangaskhan lumber down the staircase. Its eyes, just like all the other Pokémon that were controlled by Team Sun, were filled with agony and pain. It paid no attention to anyone but Luana and I, as everyone in the Ranger School hid behind the Pledge Stone.  
"Ready Luana?" I said with a smile, remembering the Kangaskhan's attacks when Sven was capturing it.

"I always am! Go Pachirisu and Raichu, use Thunder Wave!" Luana said as our Pokémon charged up their electricity, stunning the Kangaskhan as I started to make loops around it.

The Kangaskhan eventually broke free of paralysis and started quickly firing up a Hyper Beam. Luana and I were able to dodge its Hyper Beam, though it did hit part of the Cargo Ship, sending chunks of metal flying high up in the air. It didn't appear as if anyone was hit but we were still worried for their safety, especially as the Kangaskhan started to recharge. We took the opportunity to have Vulpix use Flame Wheel to weaken the Kangaskhan, causing it not to attack more as the flames restricted its movement.

I switched places with Luana as I had Raichu and Pachirisu use Thunder Wave again, paralyzing the Kangaskhan as I saw that its friendship meter was almost filled up. The grunt was by the table, enraged that we weren't struggling to capture the Pokémon as he started to summon another one, which made Buneary hit him with a Jump Kick, which made him go flying. The Kangaskhan was paralyzed again by our Pokémon just as it appeared that it was about to break free from paralysis, I quickly captured it with a few more loops as the grunt's mouth dropped open.

The Kangaskhan looked around as it and its baby waved to us as it walked back up the staircase. The grunt quickly recovered and went back to the table, he was absolutely angry at this point as his Miniremo malfunctioned.

"Luana, can you please go check on everyone and see if they're okay?" I said as Luana and the Pokémon ran over to the Pledge Stone, which was about fifty feet away, as large and small pieces of metal littered the ground.

"You two captured that Pokémon?! I'll just have to attack you two myself then, starting with you." The grunt said as he ran up to me.

The grunt tried attacking me by punching me in the face and I was barely to dodge his punch. I tried hitting him and managed to punch him in the face as he staggered back. Though he proceeded to rush me and punch me hard in the stomach, which I couldn't avoid. I started to cough heavily as the grunt pushed me down, I could barely move and I soon felt the grunt kicking my back as I covered my head.

"Kellyn! I'm on my way to help!" Luana said as she ran over to me and was right next to me in a matter of seconds.

I happily looked up to see Luana quickly move in front of me, her face with a scowl fierce enough to make the grunt temporarily cower, though he attempted to hit Luana as well. She barely dodged his punch as she knocked the grunt out with one hit and then called the Ranger Union.

"Marcus, we need a Staraptor right now! A Team Dim Sun grunt is at the Ranger School and attacked Kellyn, though we were able to get him. Thank you, bye." Luana said as she hanged up her Styler.

We soon heard the flapping of wings as a Staraptor with a harness landed. Luana put the unconscious grunt on the Pokémon and then securely strapped him in, with the Staraptor flying off after a short while.

"Luana, you don't have to help me, I'll be able to get up." I said.

"Are you sure Kellyn? Please let me help you!" Luana said.

"No worries Luana, that grunt was just a bit stronger than the other ones!" I said as I tried standing up.

When I attempted to stand, I felt very disorientated, though Luana was able to help me up as we both locked arms and walked over to the Pledge Stone. However, as I sat down, I felt much better.

"Is everyone okay? Are any of you hurt at all?" I said.  
"We're not hurt Kellyn, the metal didn't hit any of us. You both did wonderful work!" Principal Lamont said.

"We're glad everyone's okay, let me just move this shrapnel and we'll continue with teaching!" Luana said as she went over to a large piece of metal, I quickly got to my feet, no longer feeling disorientated and helped her move it over. When Luana coughed a little bit because of some dust, I grew very worried.

"Luana, that reminds me, remember that fog in Chroma Highlands and how it affected you? You never got a checkup to check for any lung problems. When we head back to the Ranger Union, can we make that our top priority please?" I said as I held Luana's hand.

"That's right, I was never able to get that checkup done, we can do that when we head back! We'll have to make sure you're doing good too, that fog probably affected both of us." Luana said as she kissed me on the cheek.

"Good, that sounds like a wonderful idea. Let's get back to teaching!" I said as we continued moving the metal, eventually making a large pile as we put all of the pieces inside the ship. When we came back out, we were alerted to the sound of everyone clapping as we went back to the Pledge Stone where our Pokémon were patiently waiting.

"As you all saw, being a Ranger isn't easy, but Luana and I were able to handle that Kangaskhan!" I said.

"Don't forget about that grunt, he may have been vicious, but he showed why you don't get me mad!" Luana said as we all laughed.

"Now, before we were rudely interrupted, do any of you have any questions?" I said.

"I do! What is it like having a Ranger partner?" A girl asked.

"Having a Ranger partner is amazing and while Luana and I got along immediately, some of you may not feel the same way with your partners. The two of you might argue or even get angry with each other, but as partners, you both have to help each other out, as well as Pokémon and citizens. I wouldn't have anyone else but Luana as my partner. If anyone else has questions, feel free to raise your hands." I said as a teacher raised his hand.

"Hello there Top Rangers, thank you so much for coming out today. I teach classes so people can learn how to become Operators! I was wondering what's the most dangerous situation you two have faced?" The teacher said.

"You're welcome sir, the most dangerous situation that we've faced as Rangers would have to be…one of our first serious missions as Rangers when we worked for the Vientown Ranger base. Kellyn and I were in Pueltown and were walking to the port, we noticed some Team Dim Sun grunts and an admin lugging around a golden Gigaremo, after we attacked the three grunts, the admin unleashed a Toxicroak on us and managed to escape. As we were battling the Toxicroak, Kellyn slipped on one of its mud puddles and the Pokémon was preparing to spew poison on Kellyn, I was able to distract it and have it chase after me as I paralyzed it with a Pikachu. After a lengthy battle, we managed to catch the Pokémon and it quickly returned to its normal self." Luana said as she wrapped her arm around mine.

"Wow, that's terrifying, the newspaper never mentioned that! It only said two Rangers brought back a large machine to the Ranger base! Thank you for sharing!" The teacher said.

"You're very welcome, any other questions?" Luana said as the girl from before raised her hand.

"I had a question, those Gigaremos, are they heavy?" The girl said.

"Yes, they're extremely heavy, Big Bertha and I were able to lift one of them but Luana on the other hand is terrifyingly strong, she once lifted four of them at once without breaking a sweat." I said as I couldn't help but blush over Luana's beauty and strength.

"Thank you for answering my question, looks like Luana made you blush, huh, Mr. Hajime?" The girl said as we all laughed.

"She certainly did, I'm glad I have Luana, she's such an outstanding partner!" I said, which made Luana blush.

"I feel the same way about you Kellyn, you're a great partner. Does anyone else have any questions before we continue?" Luana said.

After waiting a few minutes and seeing that no one else's hands were raised, we headed to the next segment which involved us teaching them how to do Target Clears.

"Give us a moment, we'll be back to get some items for the next part!" I said as we went up the staircase.

While we figured everyone learned about Target Clears, being able to actually see it done would be more interesting. Luana and I went to where some of the Bidoof were wandering around and captured a couple of them while bringing some nearby crates with us back to where everyone was.

"While all of you may know what Target Clears are, being able to see them in person would be much better. We'll just borrow your Bidoof for a little while, Miss Janice, I hope that's alright!" Luana said.

"Of course, they'll be more than happy to help you two!" Janice said.

"Bidoof, break these crates for us!" I said as two of the Bidoof broke the crates, shattering them instantly.

After the crates were broken, the Bidoof happily went back up the steps as everyone clapped.

"Pokémon are very important to everyone, they're our partners and friends. As you all saw, the Bidoof were able to break the crates because the Pokémon had a Crush power of one, the same goes for the crate." Luana said.

"Most Pokémon can do Target Clears, whereas others assist Rangers, such as Staraptor which can fly you to anywhere you've previously been in a matter of minutes, Doduo can be ridden in order to reach places faster, though of course, you can't enter buildings with one, that's just rude!" I said, which made some people chuckle.

"In the event a Ranger is unsure what Pokémon can do a Target Clear on a certain obstacle, the only thing the Ranger has to do is point their finger towards the obstacle and their Styler will inform them what level the obstacle needs in order to be destroyed and what Pokémon is needed, as well as where that Pokémon can be found. For instance, a Blue Gigaremo will need to be destroyed with an Electric type Pokémon with an electricity level of two, such as a Luxio!" Luana said happily.

"Now Mrs. April, we're ready for your classes to ask us some questions they've prepared for us. I remember you called them the Questions of Terror!" I said as Mrs. April smiled.

"That's right! Class, please ask Kellyn or Luana any questions you have!" Mrs. April said.

"I have a question for Luana, what's the best thing about being a Ranger?" A boy asked.

"I would say the best thing about being a Ranger is that we're able to help out Pokémon and people in need. It's always great to make a person or a Pokémon happy after we've helped them. As Rangers, you'll need to deal with citizens every day and help them with their worries, you'll also have to talk with security guards in order to obtain any information about an area you're unfamiliar with, though I recommend talking with them even if you know the area, they're nice." Luana said.

"Sounds amazing, I'll be excited to become a Ranger! Thank you!" The boy said.

"You're welcome, anyone else?" Luana said.

"I got a question for Kellyn! Why did you decide to become a Ranger?" A girl said.

I immediately tensed up and I was contemplating about answering the question until Luana helped me out.

"Kellyn and I both decided to become Rangers because of how much help the public needs. Even if Team Dim Sun wasn't around, we would have still worked as Rangers considering how important it is to help people and Pokémon in need." Luana said, as she looked at me with a smile.

_'__Good thing Luana was here, I wouldn't have been able to answer that question.' _I thought happily to myself.

"I understand, it's very cool that you were both inspired to become Rangers to help out others. Thanks!" The girl said.

"You're welcome, does anyone else have any questions?" Luana said.

After a short while, no one else raised their hands and soon enough, the school bell rang meaning it was 5 o'clock.

"Please give a round of applause for our lovely pair of Rangers. Kellyn, Luana, we heard you two have quite the appetite so please help yourselves to some food, snacks and drinks!" Principal Lamont said happily.

"Thank you Principal Lamont, we'll be more than happy to take you up on your offer!" We said as we ran over to the table, as we got some milk pudding, bread and pasta along with some water and soda, we finished everything in a matter of minutes, which made everyone surprised especially Janice, who started to laugh.

"Hahah, they really do have an appetite! They got some great food too!" Janice said with a smile.

"Yes we do! If any of you have any questions, ask a Ranger or if you'd like, schedule a meeting to come see us by the Ranger Union and we'll answer any concerns you have. Goodbye everyone!" I said.

"Thank you for coming, we learned a lot today!" Everyone said as they slowly walked up the stairs, leaving Mrs. April and Principal Lamont behind with us.

"We're so proud of you two, we heard about the amazing work you've done, the both of you have such adorable Pokémon as well!" Mrs. April said as Raichu and Vulpix circled around her, while Pachirisu and Buneary jumped up and down.

"They certainly do, you're both such superb Top Rangers, you've helped out the Ranger Union tremendously!" Principal Lamont said.

"Thank you Mrs. April and Principal Lamont, we really enjoy being Rangers, if you two need anything, you're free to ask for us at the Ranger Union!" I said happily.

"We'll take you up on your offer if we need anything! Thank you once again for coming, Kellyn and Luana, we apologize about those students previously. They already apologized but we would be more than happy to have you two continue coming back to teach the Ranger School." Principal Lamont said.

"No need to worry, we'll be more than happy to do so!" Luana said.

"Wonderful! We'll let Chairperson Erma know to have you both teach the upcoming Rangers for every Ranger day!" Principal Lamont said.

"We can't wait to have the both of you come back to teach the Ranger School, everyone really enjoyed you guys!" Mrs. April said as we all walked up the steps.

"Thank you for having us, it was a pleasure to be able to teach the new Rangers how to become Rangers. We hope they'll apply the knowledge we taught them." I said as we reached the gate which lead into the Ranger School.

"They certainly will, once again, we really appreciate you two paying us a visit! Goodbye Kellyn and Luana, it was nice to see the both of you again!" Principal Lamont said.

"It was nice to come back to see everyone, we'll be heading back to the Ranger Union now!" Luana said.

"You two have both done so much to help Almia's citizens and Pokémon, thank you. Be safe heading back to headquarters. Goodbye Kellyn and Luana!" Mrs. April said as she and Principal Lamont shook our hands.

"We'll be safe, thanks!" Luana said as we exited the Ranger School and headed into Pueltown.

"That was fun, wasn't it Luana? It was nice to be able to teach everyone at the Ranger School about the joys of being a Ranger!" I said.

"I was a bit scared at first, but thanks to you standing up for me, I enjoyed it. Thank you Kellyn." Luana said as she gave me a kiss on the lips.

"You're welcome Luana, you're a wonderful Ranger, don't ever forget that. Now that we've finished teaching, would you like to walk back to the Ranger Union?" I said as I took Luana's hand.

"Of course! We don't have to worry about those terrifying Rangers anymore, though we'll still be cautious just in case." Luana said as Pachirisu and Buneary went ahead, while Raichu and Vulpix started to run along with them.


	24. Chapter 24: Vientown and family

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or the Ranger series, otherwise I would make a new game.**

**A/N: This chapter is mainly filler which explains the amount of words.**

Chapter 24: Vientown and family

As we headed out of Pueltown and entered Union Road, I was relieved that I no longer felt the dread I once had. Even though it was 5:10 P:M, it looked rather dark and as I looked up at the sky, it appeared as if it was about to rain, heavily.

"Luana, it looks like it's going to rain really badly, I'm worried Vulpix could get hurt by the rain, let's have it stay in one of our uniforms for safety." I said.

"That's a good point, Vulpix went ahead with our other Pokémon, so they shouldn't be too far. Vulpix! Where are you?" Luana said as we noticed our Pokémon playing with a Growlithe, which we gently patted on the head as it looked up at us and scurried back to its den.

"What an adorable little Growlithe! Vulpix, can you climb into one of our uniforms so the rain won't hurt you?" I said as Vulpix jumped into my arms as I held it close.

As we started to jog back to the Ranger Union, the rain started to come down heavily as I held Vulpix closer in my arms, we quickly went from a jog to a full-on sprint as our Pokémon were barely able to keep up the pace. Within a few minutes, we made it to the Ranger Union and headed inside as I made sure Vulpix and our other Pokémon were alright.

"Vulpix? Are you okay? Did any rain get you?" I said as Vulpix shook its head and nuzzled me.

"Aww, so adorable! Let's take them back to the Pokémon training room!" Luana said as we both entered the room.

"Hi guys, welcome back! Looks like the rain really got the both of you!" Ben said with a smile as he handed us towels for our Pokémon.

"Hello there Ben, it certainly did! Thankfully, we were able to keep Vulpix from getting drenched with rain!" I said as we dried off Raichu, Pachirisu and Buneary.

"Good! I'm glad you guys are okay. Betty isn't here today, she's visiting her family for a few days. If you two need anything let me know!" Ben said.

"We will Ben, thank you! We hope Betty has an enjoyable time with her family! Pachirisu, Buneary, Raichu and Vulpix, thanks for being with us today, we really appreciate it. We love you guys." I said as we gave all of our Pokémon a hug, which made them nuzzle us.

"Bye guys, Ben will make sure all of you are fed if you're hungry. You're all doing great work on your training! Thank you Ben!" Luana said.

"No problem guys, take it easy!" Ben said.

"We will, you do the same, Ben!" We said as we exited the Pokémon training Room and headed to the third floor where Chairperson Erma was while Marcus and Linda were working.

"Hello dearies, welcome back! We missed all of you terribly, I hope you all enjoyed teaching at the Ranger School, Principal Lamont actually just called, he was calling to say that everyone loved the both of you and would like to request you two to continue visiting the Ranger School to teach the new Rangers!" Chairperson Erma said.

"We'll be more than happy to do so!" Luana said.

"That's right, it was fun to teach at the Ranger School, we really had a lot of fun!" I said.

"Wonderful, I'll make sure to let him know. Also, Kellyn, your mother is an amazing doctor, she nursed every injured Ranger back to full health along with some assistance! She also had some wonderful news for you two, she's down in the lobby!" Chairperson Erma said.

"Thank you Chairperson Erma, she works hard to fight for those she cares about, which just so happens to be everyone! I was actually wondering if Luana can get a checkup, she inhaled some of that black fog from Chroma Highlands and never checked if she had any damage to her system." I said.

"Kellyn, you have to get a checkup too, you inhaled some of that fog as well!" Luana said.

"I understand! Kellyn, your mother will perform the checkup, thank you for letting me know!" Chairperson Erma said.

"You're welcome Chairperson Erma! Let's go Luana!" I said as we hurried downstairs and saw my mother sitting on a chair by the receptionist desk, with a machine and a notepad in her hands, she smiled when she saw us.

"Hi mom, Chairperson Erma told us that you wanted us to do a checkup so we came down here right away!" I said.

"Hello sweethearts, that's right, I have some great news for you guys, but first, I have to check both of your lungs for any possible damage. I'll do the tests in your room!" Mom said as we all entered our room.

"I'm worried about Luana, can you please check her for any respiratory problems first?" I said as we both sat down on the bed.

"Kellyn, you inhaled some of that fog too! What if you have more lung damage than me?" Luana said.

"Luana, don't you worry. The test won't take long, if there's any smog in either of your systems, this machine will check for anything, even minute traces." Mom said as she started up the machine as Mom had Luana put the tube in her mouth.

After a few minutes, the machine finished its test as Mom jotted down some information on her notepad.

"Good, you have no respiratory problems to speak of. I'll check you next, Kellyn." Mom said as she replaced the tube with a new one while Luana held my hand.

After the tube went down my throat, and after a few minutes, the machine finished its test as Mom once again wrote down information.

"Good, neither of you have any respiratory issues to speak of. Now that you two are confirmed to have no lung damage at all, what's with this bed arrangement? I think it's absolutely sweet that you two are that close!" Mom said.

"That was my idea! Speaking of the room, we've been meaning to decorate it, Kellyn and I should really look for some Eevee and Mudkip decorations!" Luana said happily.

"That would make the room look even better than before, do you know anywhere we can buy some good decorations, Mom?" I said as we all headed out of the room.

"Hmm, I think the best place would be Pueltown, those markets always change up! Maybe there will be some nice decorations there!" Mom said.

"We'll head there in a bit then, sounds like a great idea, thanks Mrs. Hajime!" Luana said.

"You're welcome Luana, I'm glad I could help you two and your friends out! Since I'm all done here, I'll head back home, your father and Rina miss me!" Mom said.

"You're going back home? It's raining really badly outside mom, do you want us to get you an umbrella or walk you home?" I said.

"Don't you worry sweetheart, I made sure to bring an umbrella! We'll be having some great dinner tonight, would you and Luana like to come over?" Mom said.

"That sounds like a great idea, Luana and I would definitely love to come over! Thanks for helping out so much with everyone's injuries, we really appreciate it!" I said.

"Of course, it was great to be able to help out the Ranger Union after all they've done! I hope you and Luana will come for dinner at 7:30 P.M! Bye sweethearts!" Mom said as she gave both of us a hug.

"Bye, we'll be more than happy to! Thanks for the help once again!" We said as Mom waved and walked out of the Ranger Union.

"Aww, I miss her already, the good news is that we don't have any lung issues! I was thinking of doing some quests and buying some decorations afterwards but with this rain, we can't do anything." I said.

"I miss your mom too, she really helped everyone out especially with how much work Dr. Rhythmi had to do because of those various assaults. It would be great to enjoy Vientown and Nabiki Beach if it isn't raining there, we could also see how everyone at the Ranger Base is doing! It was rather exhausting answering all those questions as well as dealing with Team Dim Sun, but I still enjoyed it!" Luana said.

"That's a good idea, it would be good to see how everyone is doing, maybe after we finish at Vientown and Nabiki beach, we could head over to Pueltown and then do some quests tomorrow! The rain looks like it's a light drizzle now, so we should hurry before it starts getting worse!" I said as we ran out of the Ranger Union and headed into Pueltown.

I spotted a Staraptor flying around Altru Park and quickly captured it, afterwards, Luana and I hopped on the Staraptor as we made our way to Vientown. In a matter of minutes, we quickly landed in front of the Ranger base.

After the Staraptor flew off, we headed inside and saw Elaine and Ollie working on a Miniremo, while Crawford and Barlow were talking with each other, while Jen was sorting through her paperwork. Since none of them didn't notice us coming in, we decided to scare them as Luana went right by Crawford and Barlow, while I tiptoed over to Elaine and Ollie. I picked up Elaine and Ollie, giving them a hug while Luana did the same to Crawford and Barlow. We couldn't help but laugh while Jen stood there surprised and after a while, we put them back down.

"K-Kellyn?! Luana?! You both scared us!" Elaine said.

"I thought a Machamp just carried us!" Ollie said, his eyes wide.

"I felt the same way, you and Kellyn are very strong! Those are some great qualities for Rangers!" Barlow said.

"Very strong?! Barlow, I think these two could lift a building if they wanted to! They hoisted us up like we were Growlithe!" Crawford said.

"Hahah, hi guys, it's wonderful to see all of you! We wanted to spend some time with you guys to see how all of you are doing!" Luana said.

"That's right! Did you guys have any dinner yet? We can cook you guys something if you'd like! Hi Jen, are you okay?" I said.

"I'm okay! I was just surprised the two of you were able to pick everyone up so easily! You guys can prepare us food if you'd like, we didn't eat anything yet!" Jen said.

"You guys didn't eat food yet? Do you guys have any ingredients in the fridge? We'll make you guys something really nice!" Luana said.

"We have tons of food supplies! Elaine, Ollie, Jen and Crawford, get ready to sit down and eat. Kellyn and Luana have to be better chefs than me, you guys take all the time you need, it's only 5:35 P.M. so it'll still be a couple of hours before we head to sleep." Barlow said as we nodded and headed into the sleeping quarters, as we walked to the back of the sleeping quarters, there was a door which lead to a kitchen.

"Awesome, let's see what food they have…there's asparagus, pasta, broccoli, onions and peppers. That sounds good to me, let's get started!" Luana said as she put the pasta in a pot while I washed the asparagus and onions and then diced them up, which made my eyes start to water.

"I got the onions and asparagus all done before I sauté them! We'll leave the broccoli for last!" I said as I continued to dice a few more onions, which made my eyes start to tear up more.

"Aww, I don't like seeing you cry, even though I know it's the onions." Luana said as she gave me a kiss on the lips.

"Thanks Luana, I feel better now! How's the pasta coming along?" I said as my face felt hot.

"It just finished! Let me go ahead and strain it!" Luana said as strained the pasta and added some butter while I finished the onions and asparagus, afterwards, I put the broccoli in a small pot to boil and cut up the peppers.

After a few minutes, the broccoli was finished as we combined everything into a giant bowl of pasta and vegetables. Luana and I washed the dishes and put everything back so that Barlow wouldn't have any extra work to do.

"That looks amazing, nice work Luana!" I said as I kissed Luana on the lips.

"You're pretty good at cooking! Let's take this out to Barlow and everyone, hopefully they'll like it!" Luana said as we headed outside as we saw everyone at a table with plates and forks ready, along with some water.

"Woah, that smells delicious, you guys didn't take long to cook that at all!" Barlow said as we placed the bowl in the center of the table.

Everyone quickly took their portion and thankfully, there was enough left for both Luana and I as we took our share and sat down.

"I knew that you two enjoyed good food, but I never tasted cooking from either of you, this is awesome!" Ollie said.

"Thanks guys, we tried our best, we're happy you guys like it!" I said as Luana and I finished eating and after a while, everyone else finished up their remainder of food.

"Oh man, I can't eat another bite. You two sure know how to cook!" Barlow said.

"I agree, it's very delicious!" Jen said.

"It's far better than my food, Ollie doesn't think it's bad…but I sure do! Do you guys remember when I made apple toast?! My cooking is awful!" Crawford said as we all laughed.

"Don't worry Crawford, we'll be more than happy to help you cook!" I said.

"Really?! Good, because one time, the pancakes I made were filled with strawberries!" Crawford said.

"Strawberries? Well, strawberry pancakes are delicious!" Luana said.

"These were anything but delicious, I can't wait for you guys to show me how to cook!" Crawford said.

"Crawford, soon you'll be a better chef than you already are!" Luana said.

"Those pancakes were really cool looking though, they tasted pretty good to me, just a little less strawberry and it would be perfect!" Ollie said.

"That's right, your cooking isn't bad at all!" Jen said.

"I could probably eat at least three of your pancakes before I'm full along with some milk pudding!" Barlow said.

"See? Everyone already likes your food! We'll drop by later on to give you a little bit of assistance if you really feel like your cooking isn't good. Is there anything you guys needed before we left? We were going to go to Nabiki beach and spend a little time there before we head to Kellyn's house!" Luana said.

"Oooh, Nabiki beach, how romantic! It's a good thing that Nabiki beach is safe once more, Marcus told us about how Sven, Wendy and the both of you brought the three Rangers down. Awesome work guys, now we don't have to be scared anymore!" Elaine said.

"I know, it'll be nice to spend some time there! We're glad that everyone in Vientown can enjoy Nabiki beach again!" Luana said.

"I'm glad you guys are going to be able to enjoy Nabiki beach together. We don't need anything else at the Ranger base here, if we do, we'll let you guys know. Crawford or Elaine might have a quest opening up for you guys soon! We really appreciate the food guys, if you want to head to Nabiki beach, right now is…6:37 P.M., so you two have time to enjoy how beautiful it looks!" Barlow said.

"I'm excited to go to Nabiki beach, hopefully there's going to be some Wingull flying around! We're glad you guys enjoyed the food, Luana and I will also be sure to help either Crawford or Elaine if they have a quest for us. Bye guys, good night! It was nice to see all of you!" I said as everyone waved.

Luana and I both jogged to Nabiki beach, when we arrived, we walked down the staircase and sat down on the sand as we stared at the ocean. After a little while, I felt an arm creep up to my shoulder, even though I knew it was Luana, I still trembled.

When I turned to see Luana, I couldn't help but smile as I saw how happy she looked. Luana smiled back as her hair began to flow in the wind while her face illuminated by the moonlight.

"Y-you look…beautiful, Luana, I'm happy to be here with you." I said.

"Thanks Kellyn, you look handsome, especially in this moonlight. I'm glad I'm here with you too." Luana said as she started to blush.

I shyly put my hand on Luana's cheek as I leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips as she smiled.

"This reminds me of when we were first at Nabiki beach when I called you gorgeous! Are you enjoying the scenery?" I said.

"Hahah, I remember you calling me gorgeous, that was so nice of you to say! I'm loving this scenery, the ocean looks so pretty whenever it's day or night, it's fantastic!" Luana said as we both embraced for a while, which made me blush.

"You're welcome Luana, you really are gorgeous! I have to say that this view is really beautiful, I think that Nabiki beach looks best when it's the sunset, what do you think?" I said.

"I agree, it looks great anytime of day but it really does look the greatest when the sun is about to set! What time is it by the way? I wouldn't want us to be late for dinner at your house!" Luana said as I checked my Styler, and saw that it was 7 P.M., meaning that we had enough time to reach my house.

"It's 7 P.M., we have quite a bit of time to reach my house, do you want to head over there before it gets late? I'd rather get there early, but what would you want to do?" I said.

"That would be a great idea, let's go, we can jog over there in no time!" Luana said as we locked arms, reaching my house in only ten minutes.

"Mom, Luana and I are here, we reached early if that's okay!" I said as I gently knocked, just in case dad was home and tired from work.

"Come in! I just finished dinner!" Mom said as we both entered the house.

"Hello Mrs. Hajime! Do you need us to help you clean up or anything since you already finished cooking?" Luana said.

"I already went ahead and did so, you guys can wait at the table and I'll take out food for the both of you!" Mom said as we sat down and noticed the bowls and spoons while the cups had some soda.

After a short while, Mom came over with a giant bowl of potato stew as she took out heaping portions for the both of us.

"Thanks mom! This food looks great, where's dad and Rina? Are they in the farm?" I said.

"You're welcome! Your father is at work and Rina is out feeding some Pokémon in Pueltown, the both of you can eat since I'm not sure when they'll be home, hopefully they'll come home soon so that they can see you two." Mom said.

"We don't mind waiting, we're pretty hungry but we would feel bad if we finished eating before they arrived!" Luana said as the door opened, with Rina happily walking inside.

"Hi mom, I'm home! Hi Kellyn, hi Luana, it's so nice to see you guys! Mom, you didn't tell me they were coming over! I was going to ask Luana some more questions!" Rina said.

"I wanted it to be a nice surprise, did you enjoy feeding the Pokémon? Also, do you know if your father is still at Pueltown's clinic?" Mom said.

"I loved feeding the Pokémon, I was only able to feed a few Starly but they were so amazing! I also went inside and asked for dad but the receptionist said he left for work a few minutes ago, meaning he should be home soon." Rina said.

"That's wonderful Rina, I'm glad you had fun! Pueltown isn't too far from here, usually your father just takes a Staraptor home since it's much easier. Let me get you some food, dear." Mom said as she took out some stew for Rina.

Right after she did so, the door once again opened as dad came home with a big smile on his face as he saw us.

"Hi guys, I got home quick thanks to the Staraptors around here. I'm glad I didn't have to walk all the way home tonight, I hope none of your food is cold!" Dad said as Mom took out food for him and herself as we all sat down.

Now that everyone was here, we all happily ate, with Luana and I finishing first while dad and mom took a few minutes longer than us, followed by Rina.  
"That stew was amazing, thank you!" Luana said.

"I agree, thanks mom! It was delicious like always." I said happily as dad and Rina both nodded.

"I can't eat anything more…I don't think I can move from all that stew." Dad said.

"I think that food is going to keep me full for an entire day, great work mom!" Rina said.

"You're welcome everyone, I did my best! Is it possible I can get a tip for such great cooking?" Mom said happily.

We all looked at each other for a moment, before we all gave Mom a kiss on the cheek as we laughed.

"Thanks everyone! Let me go ahead and put the leftovers in the fridge!" Mom said with a giggle.

"Luana, Luana! I thought of some more questions! Would you like to answer them?" Rina said.

"Of course I would, go ahead and ask me all of them, Rina!" Luana said happily.

"Yay! What's your favorite Pokémon? What about your favorite food? Do you enjoy running or walking? My last question is how are you so strong?" Rina said as she happily looked up at Luana.

"Those are some wonderful questions! My favorite Pokémon would have to be either Eevee or Mudkip, they're both so adorable and I love how strong they are. As for my favorite food, I prefer anything, but if I had to choose, it would probably be stew. I tend to like either running or walking but I prefer walking since the only person who can catch up to me is Kellyn. When it comes to how strong I am, sometimes it surprises me, though I will say whenever anyone is in danger, especially Kellyn, adrenaline kicks in and I get far stronger. The only time I would use my strength to hurt others is if someone tried to attack another person." Luana said

"Oooh, what awesome answers, just like last time! I'm so happy that you answered all my questions! Thank you Luana!" Rina said as she gave Luana a big hug.

"I think it's very sweet that you and Kellyn are so alike and that you'll do your best to protect him. Tell me about any other great adventures you two have had if you would like, Rina was more than happy to tell me about some of them such as how you guys infiltrated the cargo ship, helped out Pueltown's Pokémon and getting the Blue Gem at Almia Castle!" Dad said.

"Mom told me all the stories when she came back and I had to share them with dad! I always thought you two were cool but now I know that you two are even cooler with what you two have went through! You guys are awesome!" Rina said happily.

"Thanks Rina, we're glad you think Luana and I are awesome! Luana, would you like to tell more stories? I think some of them are pretty exciting." I said.

"Some of the other adventures we've done tend to be dangerous or exciting! Though I will say that the travel to Shiver Camp was something that was dangerous, a Team Dim Sun admin somehow knew we were going to be crossing a bridge to reach Shiver Camp and tried having two Mamoswine freeze Kellyn. I was so…angry that the admins of Team Dim Sun have attempted to kill Kellyn from time to time. A few of the grunts were quite vicious as well but for the most part, they weren't too bad." Luana said.

"What's scary is that they've tried to kill Luana as well. If it wasn't for Luana cheering for me as I was crossing the bridge, I probably would have been frozen solid. Luana has protected me many times and she's an absolutely great partner, I really appreciate her." I said as my face felt hot.

"Team Dim Sun really is a terrifying group. I'm glad that the Rangers are so efficient, especially you two! It makes me angry to think that Team Dim Sun has nearly killed the both of you several times." Dad said.

"Their admins are the worse, Ben and Betty were two grunts that we met in Almia Castle who of course, now work for the Ranger Union. They were being abused by them and it was horrible, they had so much bruises!" I said.  
"Why would the admins abuse them?" Rina said.

"It's because they wanted control over them and wanted to make them feel pain and agony." Luana said.

"Those admins sound horrible, were you two able to capture them?" Mom said as she finished washing the dishes.

"We were able to tie them up after a long fight and had some Staraptors them to the Ranger Union! I can't even describe how angry I was when they tried attacking Luana." I said.

"With how close you two are, I can understand why you were so angry, I'm glad that you two share such a great bond." Mom said as we both blushed.

"I'm happy you two were able to capture them! Since the both of you were able to get the Blue Gem, did anything else exciting happen?" Dad said.

"Yes, we were able to get two new Partner Pokémon inside of Almia Castle, a Raichu and a Vulpix! They technically work for the Ranger Union and help out when needed, though they're owned by us. We can bring all of our Pokémon over the next time we come visit, if that's okay with you guys, our Partner Pokémon are Pachirisu and Buneary." Luana said.

"We'd love to have them over!" Mom said as dad nodded.

"I'd love to hug a Pachirisu!" Rina said.

"Good, they're all very friendly so you guys would love them. Luana and I are going to leave in a few minutes, but we're happy we stopped by to see how everyone is doing!" I said happily.

"Speaking of family, Luana, will Kellyn be having dinner at your house soon?" Dad said with a smile.

"Ah, f-family? I was actually trying to see if my brother would like to live in this little village since he currently lives in Haruba Village with my parents, work isn't too good over there from what he's told me. I w-was hoping to have him move here primarily because of how close work would be for him compared to Haruba Village and when Kellyn informed me that his family lived here as well, I figured it would be better since you would all have some company, it must be pretty scary around here sometimes, even though there are Pokémon and people around. H-how does that sound?" Luana said as she started getting fidgety.

"Hahah! Luana, you shouldn't be so worried, we'd love to get to meet your brother, I think it's thoughtful that you're worried about us! It would be nice to make a new friend!" Dad said as Luana breathed a sigh of relief.

"I completely agree, he sound wonderful. We would be very happy to get to meet him!" Mom said.

"Thank you, my brother would be really excited to meet all of you! I think Chicole Village would be a nicer place for him to live compared to Haruba Village." Luana said.

"It sure does! Especially because Haruba Village never has any rain, I think the area around here would be nice for him. I actually had one more question if you don't mind, Luana. I was curious about what you would do if someone managed to insult Kellyn or yourself. I know if someone threatened him with bodily harm, you would get really mad, but would the same thing happen if someone insulted Kellyn?" Rina said.

"That's a good question Rina! If someone insulted me, it wouldn't get me angry, but if that person decided to insult Kellyn, I would usually scowl at them and get enraged. It breaks my heart seeing Kellyn's adorable face look so sad when someone is rude to him, though I will say he gets just as ferocious as I do whenever someone insults me." Luana said.

"That's true, Luana tends to be calm but if someone tries making fun of me when she's around, they better start running! I remember when I was recovering in the medical room and three Rangers, the two females and one male who were the same ones we suspected as being our attackers, barged in the room and insulted us. Even though Luana didn't flinch when they started picking on her, I definitely started to get annoyed. Luana got very angry when they insulted me and when she stood up, one of them actually ran away because of how scared she was, I thought it was hilarious!" I said.

"It's good to know that you two care about each other so much, I find that to be very sweet! I hope that no one ever makes both of you furious at the same time, that wouldn't be good for them!" Mom said.

"That's so awesome Luana, you two are so similar! I've never seen my brother angry before, but it's good to know the only way to really get him mad is to insult you!" Rina said.

"It certainly is good to know, I'm glad that they're Rangers, they're doing great work helping out Almia! I also know that you two have to leave soon but I was wondering what other sort of dangers you two faced?" Dad said.

"I would say one of the most dangerous things would have to be when those three rogue Rangers were on the loose. It was so scary because we would have no idea where they could be at any time, I was so worried about everyone's safety, especially Kellyn's. I'm glad that I was able to help Kellyn out whenever he got attacked, he's a very capable fighter but the male Ranger, Elliott, was vicious and even faster than Kellyn. If I didn't help Kellyn, I'm fairly certain Elliott would have continued to beat him." Luana said as she started to tremble.

"Don't you worry Luana, you've always been by my side. We protect each other and those we care about, which is everyone!" I said as Luana relaxed.

"You two are so adorable together!" Mom said as we all laughed.

"Thanks Mrs. Hajime, we try! I'm always so happy to be around Kellyn, I really appreciate his company." Luana said.

"Being fond of someone and appreciating them is something that's important! I just realized we had you two here for much longer than we thought, it's already 10:02 P.M.! Are you two going to be safe getting back to the Ranger Union?" Dad said.

"I agree, having love and compassion for them is important as well. As for the time, that's not too late, we'll be able to reach back safely. It was fun to talk with all of you!" Luana said with a smile.

"Bye mom and dad, bye Rina! Thanks for having us come over, we had a great time. Love you guys!" I said as we both gave everyone a hug.

"Bye sweethearts, please come over whenever you two want, you're welcome here anytime! We'll be headed to bed in a bit since we all have work tomorrow, good night!" Mom said.

"Good night! We'll come back with our Pokémon when we're able to!" I said as we walked out of our house and walked from Vientown to Pueltown in a matter of minutes.


	25. Chapter 25: A prank and Linda

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or the Ranger series at all.**

Chapter 25: A prank and Linda

Around this time of night, there were a few Rangers and a couple of security guards walking around, we figured that some of them were at Altru Tower keeping it safe at night time. Luana and I also decided to walk around Pueltown to make sure nothing suspicious was occurring, after we finished doing so, we went over to a small area that had some flowers, I held Luana's hand as I brought her over to the beautiful red and yellow flowers.

"This is a pretty arrangement of flowers, it looks so beautiful! I had such a wonderful time at your house, Kellyn. I hope my brother can move to Chicole Village soon, he would love it there!" Luana said as she started to blush.

"That would be awesome Luana, Terry would really enjoy Chicole Village, I'm happy you had a great time with my family! I just wanted to say that…I love you, thank you for everything that you've done." I said as I kissed Luana on the lips and started to tremble.

"I love you too Kellyn, I really appreciate your kindness and compassion. I'm so happy that you're my partner!" Luana said as she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me on the lips.

Luana and I sat down afterwards and admired the flowers as the breeze made them sway slightly, as we were doing so, I couldn't help but give Luana a big hug as we both sat there and held each other for a while as we gazed into each other's eyes.

"We're a great team Kellyn, you mean so much to me. I don't think I could be a great Ranger if it wasn't for you." Luana said as she moved closer to me, making me tremble.

"W-we really are great together, you mean a lot to me too, Luana. I think that you would be an exceptional Ranger whether I was your partner or not." I said as Luana put her hand on my cheek which only made me tremble more as I felt my face get hot.

"Kellyn, are you feeling cold? Maybe this will help!" Luana said with a smirk as she leaned in and gave me another kiss on the lips.

"I always feel so giddy whenever I'm so close to you. I feel much better now, thanks Luana." I said as Luana grinned.

"That's sweet! We can walk around Pueltown once more to look for anyone out of the ordinary. It's only 10:30 so it's still early. We can go when you're ready!" Luana said as we both got up, locked our arms and walked around Pueltown.

After we observed several different areas in Pueltown, Luana and I decided to walk down Union Road. Even though the area was dark, I felt much safer now, especially because Luana was with me. As we were walking though, I saw someone about ten feet away in the trees that was wearing an Eevee mask, I instantly felt like I was going to faint, even though Elliott and his cohorts were sent to an offshore island from what I last heard and this person didn't appear to have anything in their hands, it was still scary how we nearly got killed.

"L-Luana, do you see that person? They're standing in those trees over there, wearing an Eevee mask, do you think that Elliott and his pals had more people working with them?" I said in a worried tone.

"I see where they're standing just barely. This person can definitely be a threat and I could see Elliott and the other two having other people in the Ranger Union helping them out." Luana said as we started to run, though the person in the Eevee mask jumped out before we could pass them, as they took the mask off, revealing a Ranger with brown spiky hair. Even as the mask was off and the Ranger didn't seem to have an angry expression, I was still absolutely terrified and I hid behind Luana as she got into a fighting stance, ready to protect me.

"Hi Kellyn, hi Luana, don't worry! I just wanted to play a funny prank on you two, I didn't mean to scare either of you, sorry about that!" The Ranger said as I saw Luana scowl, which made the Ranger start to back up as Luana towered over him and got in his face.

"That was a prank? Elliott tried attacking us with poison around this same area and you decided to lurk around in the trees while wearing a mask?! Are you sure you didn't mean to scare us?" Luana said as the Ranger started to tremble slightly.

"I was trying to not be scared of walking here late at night, Elliott almost killed us and it scared me when I saw him with the rope and poison." I said as I calmed down.

"I-I heard about something with a Ranger wearing a mask, I was out of the Ranger Union at the time but I heard about it from some other Rangers. I'm…I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Please don't hurt me." The Ranger said as Luana went back to my side.

"It was an…interesting prank, I'm not mad though. Tell all your Ranger buddies not to do a similar prank, it was a traumatic experience for me." I said.

"Y-yes, I understand, I'll let all of my friends know. Thank you and once again, I'm sorry!" The Ranger said as he ran off while Luana wrapped her arm around my shoulder.

"Kellyn, this is another reason I love you, you're very understanding. Let's continue to the Ranger Union, we can talk with Sven and Wendy if they're still up." Luana said as we continued walking to the Ranger Union and headed inside.

As we entered the Ranger Union and headed to Sven and Wendy's room, we squeezed their Eevee toy as the door opened immediately. Wendy answered right away as she had a big smile on her face.

"Hi guys, please come in, we just had some dinner a little while ago after a relaxing day! Please sit down anywhere you guys would like!" Wendy said as we entered their room which was very similar to ours in design, minus the loveseat which was replaced with a large sofa which we all sat down in. Another slight difference was the wall color, ours was plain white while theirs was yellow.

"Hello Wendy, it's good to see you! That sounds nice, Luana and I had some food to eat at my house!" I said.

"It was delicious, we were thinking of doing some quests today and were going to pick up some decorations for our room, but we weren't able to as we spent some time in Vientown before heading to Kellyn's place. I enjoyed it!" Luana said with a smile.

"That's great! I'm glad you two had fun, I was heading back to our room after I ate my dinner to see how Linda was doing and I saw a Ranger wearing an Eevee mask come running up the stairs, he almost knocked me over! What was that about?" Wendy said.

"That Ranger decided to play a cruel joke on us where he hid in the trees similar to how Elliott did. It was a bit scary for me but we told him to inform his friends to not do the same thing. Is Linda okay? She's usually with Marcus." I said.

"That's very disrespectful of that Ranger to do that to you guys, especially considering how Elliott was almost able to kill you two if the both of you weren't so fast. Linda is mostly fine but she's been feeling rather sick lately, it worries me that she could be working herself too hard. What do you guys think?" Wendy said.

"We're not worried about that Ranger, but we appreciate your concern! As for Linda, we can all see how she's doing tomorrow. She might not be our Operator but she's still important, I hope she isn't stressing herself out. By the way, where's Sven? I know you said that you both had dinner a little bit ago, but is he here?" Luana said.

"We can see how Linda's doing tomorrow, that's a great idea! As for Sven, he's actually out trying to capture a Pokémon! He told me to stay here because it's a surprise and I'm worried he might get hurt." Wendy said.

"Wendy, I know you're worried, but Sven will be fine, he's a very capable Top Ranger just like you! I find it odd that he's out trying to capture a Pokémon this late, especially because most Pokémon in the area are asleep by now. Maybe he'll be bringing you flowers or something instead, either way, I would say that sounds romantic to me!" I said.

"You're right, Sven will be back soon whether he's bringing a Pokémon or not!" Wendy said as the door opened and Sven walked in with a chocolate shaped like a Chatot.

We all looked at each other and started to laugh considering that we thought Sven would be back much later than expected.

"Hi guys, it's nice to see you two! Sorry I took so long Wendy, one of the few stores still open had these giant chocolates and I figured I would get one of them for you, especially because I know you love chocolate!" Sven said as he handed the chocolate to Wendy.

"I was worried about you! Thank you for the chocolate, I can't wait to have some! Would you guys like a piece?" Wendy said as we both politely shook our heads.

"Thank you Wendy, we appreciate it! We're still from the food we had earlier, you and Sven should enjoy it together! Luana and I wanted to stop by and see how you guys were doing before we headed to bed." I said as Wendy gave all of us a piece, which we took and ate.

"Thanks Wendy! Kellyn and I were wondering if the two of you would like to head to Pueltown with us tomorrow to pick up some decorations, then we would take them back here so we can decorate our rooms and head out to do some quests which you guys can do with us if you two would like! Afterwards, would you guys like to head to the Chroma Ruins to investigate the pathways that were inaccessible? They may have been cleared since no one spoke about them recently. What do you guys think?" Luana said happily.

"That sounds awesome, we'd love to get some decorations with you guys as well as help out some citizens. We can do it like how we usually do, which is when we go to a town and split up with our partners. I heard that those pathways are now accessible, but we can still explore there tomorrow!" Wendy said.

"I like how that sounds, it would be fun to hang out with Kellyn and Luana! We need to help out some citizens, plus making this room look better than it already is would be great! Exploring those ruins sounds awesome!" Sven said.

"We love hanging out with you guys too! We'll wake up early and get some breakfast so that we won't delay you guys, though you two don't need to wake up early if you two decide on sleeping a bit. We'll be up at around 9 A.M., you guys can join us at that time if you'd like." I said.

"We will, though you guys certainly don't take long to eat breakfast! We'll enjoy being with you guys!" Wendy said.

"No problem, we'll be headed to bed now, good night guys!" Luana said.

"Good night!" They said as we exited their room and entered ours.

As Luana and I put on the light switch, I went ahead and got my pajamas while Luana entered the bathroom, I was able to quickly change as I put my uniform in the dresser and climbed into bed. After a few minutes, Luana exited the bathroom in her pajamas while she went ahead and put her uniform in the dresser and took off the light, climbing into bed after doing so.

I was drifting off to sleep when I felt a hand reaching up to me, though this time, the hand touched my cheek. Within moments, my head was turned towards Luana, who gave me a big smile as she happily gave me a kiss on the lips.

"You thought I was going to scare you, right?" Luana said with a smirk.

"I did, you're really good at doing that!" I said as Luana got closer to me, which made both of our faces nearly touch.

"Don't worry Kellyn, whether you're scared or not, I'll still keep you company." Luana said.

"I love how that sounds. Good night Luana, I love you." I said.

"Good night Kellyn, I love you too." Luana said as I drifted off to sleep with our hands intertwined.

When I woke up, I saw that Luana was already dressed in her Ranger uniform, at first I was wondering why she was up so early until I quickly jumped out of bed, got my Ranger uniform and went to the bathroom, changing off within a minute as I finished my business as I brushed my teeth and washed my face, making sure I was ready to go. As I opened the door, I was face to face with Luana, who had a smile on her face as I jumped back in surprise.

"AHHH! Good morning Luana, that was a terrifying way to make sure I stayed awake! We're not running late, are we?" I said as my heart continued to race as Luana giggled.

"Good morning Kellyn, I figured I had to scare you a little bit! We're on time, right now is only 8:52 A.M. so we can head to the cafeteria and wait for Wendy and Sven to arrive. I only woke up a few minutes before you, but I went ahead and got dressed anyway. I was going to wake you up but you looked so adorable sleeping!" Luana said as I gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm glad we're not running late, hopefully our friends don't take too long! Also…I look adorable when I sleep?" I said as we walked out of the room and headed upstairs.

"Of course you do, Kellyn! You're always adorable!" Luana said as she wrapped her arm around me and made our way to the cafeteria.

As we headed inside, we noticed that while Sven and Wendy weren't there, Linda was there and she was crying as she was finishing her toast. Luana and I walked up to her concerned as she continued to cry.

"Linda?! We heard that you've haven't been feeling too good. Is there something we can do to help?" I said as Linda looked up at us, tears streaming down her face.

"H-h-hi guys, please s-sit down." Linda said as she continuously wiped away her tears.

When Luana and I sat down, Linda immediately grabbed our hands as she stopped crying and sniffled as she put her head on the table.

"Linda, please tell us what's wrong, we don't like seeing anyone cry." Luana said as Linda looked back up at us.

"O-okay, I've been feeling sad because I don't think I'm a great Top Operator like Marcus, I help out Wendy and Sven but I'm not good." Linda said as she looked away from us.

"Linda, why do you feel that you're not good? You're a great Top Operator, just like how Marcus gives us advice or any useful tips we didn't know, you most likely do something similar and help out Sven and Wendy when they're on missions or quests." I said.

"Kellyn's right, you're a Top Operator because you're good at what you do!" Luana said.

"Y-you guys…you guys are right…thank you, sorry about making you two worry so much." Linda said as we both went over to her and gave her a hug.

"It's no problem at all, Wendy and Sven were really worried about you too! They mentioned you being sick as well. Is everything okay?" I said.

"Well…I've been feeling very weak lately, I don't feel like eating or anything and most of the time I'm helping Rangers out or cleaning the Operators' area. I don't know what it is, but I don't want to take a day off of work." Linda said as she wringed her hands while Luana and I looked at each other.

"Linda, if you don't take a break off of work, you'll have problems with your leg just like what happened with me on the Cargo Ship, I had some leg problems because of all the work I was doing and if wasn't for Luana, I'm certain I would have taken a long time to heal, even longer than the week that Dr. Rhythmi said it would have been." I said as Luana wrapped her arm around me.

"Kellyn's right, you have to rest and get at least a day off. There has to be more Top Operators in the Ranger Union, I remember Rhythmi was getting her training done in Fiore, we can ask Chairperson Erma if she's headed back here so she can help you out!" Luana said happily.

"You guys would do that for me? I don't want to be a burden to anyone." Linda said.

"Linda, you're not a burden at all, we'll be more than happy to ask Chairperson Erma, but before we do that, we'll get Sven and Wendy." I said as we both got Linda and put her in the middle in case she tried to leave.

"B-but, what if they get mad?! I appreciate your concern guys, but I really don't think I need a day off, I…I don't need to take a break!" Linda said as she attempted to struggle with us, though we weren't letting her go.

"Linda, you need to relax, it's not good for your health. We're going to get Sven and Wendy." I said as I called Sven on my Styler, hoping that he would pick up, thankfully, after a few rings, Sven answered right away.

"Hi guys, good morning! Sorry, we just woke up. I hope you and Luana weren't waiting for too long! Where are you guys?" Sven said.

"Hi Sven, good morning, we're inside the cafeteria with Linda and we need your help as she feels that she's not a capable Operator." I said.

"What?! We're on our way!" Sven said as he hanged up.

Within a few moments, we saw Sven and Wendy enter as they rushed over to us, while Linda tried hiding between us so they wouldn't see her.

"Hello guys, we're glad to see you! We ran up here as fast as we could once we heard Linda was with you two!" Sven said.

"Linda, you really don't think you're a great Operator? That's just not true, you're an amazing Operator! You've helped out Sven and I when we're on missions, such as when we had to rescue a Wailmer and its family from being captured by Team Dim Sun on the Cargo Ship, or when we were lost in Vien forest and you gave us directions since our Styler's map wasn't working! You're important to all of us, Linda!" Wendy said as she gave Linda a hug.

"B-but, aren't the other Operators better than me?" Linda said.

"Oh Linda, I would say that all the Operators are equal, every person at the Ranger Union is important." Luana said.

"Linda, you're a very capable and dependable person, that's why you're a Top Operator, you're good at what you do!" Sven said.

"Also, Sven and Wendy, Linda feels as if she doesn't deserve any time off. I think asking Chairperson Erma would be a great idea, wouldn't you guys agree?" I said.

"You're right Kellyn, that is a great idea, let's go ask her right now!" Wendy said as we all headed to the third floor, with Linda in the middle of us.

When we headed to the third floor, we saw Marcus cleaning up some drawers filled with paperwork while Chairperson Erma was checking the status screen of the Top Rangers, which were only the four of us.

"Hello Chairperson Erma, we're sorry to disturb you! As you can see, we have Linda here with us, she's been very stressed out lately and she feels as if she doesn't deserve a break because she doesn't think she's a competent Top Operator. If Linda does get some time off, would Rhythmi be returning from Fiore? We figured her training would be done but we were hoping to ask." I said as Chairperson Erma listened intently.

"Oh my, Linda, you're an amazing Top Operator. You've saved Sven and Wendy from peril and kept calm while doing so. I say that you're pretty extraordinary! You'll be getting a break for two days, I hope that is sufficient, if it's not, I can give you two extra days if you'd like. Rhythmi told me that she'll be back in about a couple of days, at the most, a week, which is when she'll officially be a Top Operator, I'll have Marcus assigned to be your Top Operator since I know he was initially going to be a temporary one for you and Luana. Rhythmi will be Keith's Top Operator when they both get back." Chairperson Erma said happily as Linda started to tear up while Marcus walked over.

"That would be wonderful to have Marcus as our official Top Operator. Thanks Chairperson Erma!" Luana said.

"T-thank you Chairperson Erma. I've been talking with Marcus about my inadequacy because I felt that I wasn't able to be of any use to the Ranger Union. He's been very helpful though I still feel that I'm simply a burden. Maybe a couple of days of relaxation will be what I need." Linda said as Marcus gave her a big hug.

"Linda, you're awesome, if any Operator deserves a break, it's you. I think you should spend some time with Kellyn, Luana, Sven and Wendy! They'll definitely help you relax!" Marcus said as one of the phones went off which he ran to answer.

"Thank you everyone, I would love to spend time with all of you. Chairperson Erma, is it possible I can take my vacation now?" Linda said.

"Of course you can Linda, what the four of you could do is have one day where Kellyn and Luana spend time with Linda, while tomorrow, Sven and Wendy relax with her. You two can do your usual Ranger work as necessary!" Chairperson Erma said.

"That's a great idea Chairperson Erma, we were actually hoping for all four of us to go as a group and get some decorations, do some quests and then head to Chroma Ruins! We can definitely spend time with Linda today while Sven and Wendy spend time with her tomorrow, is that okay with you guys?" I said.

"That sounds like fun! We can all head to the marketplace and get some decorations as a big group and when we're done, we can go and do our quests! Let's go get some breakfast!" Wendy said.

"Great, sounds like we're all ready. Thank you so much Chairperson Erma, we appreciate it! Bye Marcus!" Luana said as they both waved, we all headed downstairs shortly afterwards and went into the cafeteria.


	26. Chapter 26: Spending time with Linda

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

**A/N: This is a filler chapter where Kellyn, Luana, Sven and Wendy get some new furniture.**

Chapter 26: Spending time with Linda

Luana and I got our breakfast, eight pancakes, Miltank cheese and four slices of toast along with some Miltank milk. We both sat down as we waited for everyone else to get breakfast, as Sven and Wendy sat down next to us with two slices of toast with grilled Oran berries and two pancakes. Linda got her breakfast last, which was two pancakes and a couple of Sitrus berries as she shyly sat down in the fifth chair.

While Sven and Wendy's eyes were widened like usual upon seeing the food that we had, Linda's eyes looked even more surprised, which made Luana giggle.

"What's wrong Linda? You looked surprised!" Luana said as Linda looked at the food on our plates.

"I-I am, I hope this doesn't sound mean but, how can you two eat so much?!" Linda said as Wendy and Sven started to laugh.

"Don't worry Linda, this is the amount of food that Kellyn and Luana usually eat for breakfast!" Sven said.

"That's right Linda, we do tend to eat this much food, we need our energy! Also, Sven, you and Wendy both look surprised too, your expressions are always hilarious when you guys watch us eat!" I said as we all laughed.

After a few minutes, Luana and I finished our breakfast, which also made Linda's eyes widen in surprise while everyone else finished their breakfast after a while.

"You two were able to eat…all of that food?! How is that even possible?!" Linda said as we all put our trays and plates back.

Afterwards, we exited the cafeteria and left the Ranger Union with Linda joining us, much happier than she was an hour ago. As we started to walk along Union Road, I once again felt uneasy, remembering the prank that the Ranger pulled on us with the Eevee mask. While he didn't want to scare me, the entire experience simply made me scared again as I started to shiver, as I felt nervous around my friends for being so frightened of this road during the daytime.

"Don't worry Kellyn, I'm here for you. I'll hold your hand as we walk, okay?" Luana said as she smiled at me, making me feel more relaxed.

"I think that's very sweet, Luana. How come Kellyn looks so terrified?" Linda said.

"I-I'm scared because last night, a Ranger pranked us by wearing an Eevee mask and hid in some trees he was able to jump out at us before we could pass him and I was terrified. I wasn't too mad at the Ranger, but Luana helped me out like always!" I said as Luana kissed my cheek, which made me blush slightly.

"That's a horrible prank considering how you got traumatized, though it was nice you didn't get too angry at the Ranger who pranked you guys. I know I would certainly be annoyed, it's a good thing Luana was with you! Speaking of Luana, I heard that she has quite the temper when she's angry!" Linda said as Sven and Wendy chuckled softly.

"The Ranger really did seem sorry about scaring Kellyn, so I wasn't as angry. I also thought it was nice of Kellyn to not be upset with him, though it did make me sad seeing how scared Kellyn was. As for my temper, I definitely do get angry when someone threatens those I care about, especially Kellyn, it really angers me when people try hurting him!" Luana said as we made our way to Pueltown.

"That's so adorable! I remember Marcus talking about how Luana has knocked out several Team Dim Sun members so that she could protect Kellyn, that's awesome!" Wendy said.

"I didn't knock out too many of them, only the ones that tried killing or harming Kellyn!" Luana said.

"I don't know, I heard from Barlow that your strength is amazing even when you're not angry, I heard that you were able to lift four Gigaremos at once! Do you remember when Kellyn destroyed that wooden table when they were talking with Elliott? That was terrifying!" Sven said as Linda looked surprised.

"I didn't destroy it, I only splintered the wood because of how rude he was towards Luana! It wasn't that terrifying!" I said.

"It definitely was terrifying! That entire table had to be replaced, you damaged the top and the wooden frame too! It actually fell apart once Elliott was taken away and a few Rangers took the pieces to Mr. Woodward so that he can use them to make more sculptures. Chairperson Erma, Sven and I all jumped in the air because we had no idea you could be angry like Luana. You really scared us Kellyn!" Wendy said.

"The good news is that at least now we know to never get either of them mad, or that would be scary. Aside from that, they're both absolutely awesome, Wendy and I think it's really sweet how you both help each other out so much, especially when someone tries to belittle one of you!" Sven said.

"That's right! It breaks my heart to see Kellyn being treated so rudely. I'm happy to have him as my partner!" Luana said as she gave me a hug and lifted me up in the air, making me blush immensely.

"That's so sweet! You two really care about each other, that's important for great partners such as yourselves. All we have to do now is find that marketplace so we can buy some awesome decorations. I've been looking for a nice Pikachu rug for my room!" Linda said happily.

We all walked around Pueltown until we found the marketplace, which was twice the size of what it was the last time. We looked for a shop that sold decorations and were able to find one after a few minutes of searching. The shop itself was rather large and had several posters, rugs and other items, such as lamps and plush dolls. Linda was happy when she found a small Pikachu rug along with a matching poster while Sven and Wendy got a small Pokéball lamp.

Luana and I continued to look around for anything that had a Mudkip or Eevee on it and I saw a dresser that was the same size as the one in our room, the design had a Mudkip and Eevee lying down next to each other. I eagerly showed it to Luana which made her smile happily.

"That's adorable, they look just like us! It's only three hundred Pokédollars so it's a really good price!" Luana said as we both chuckled, I went ahead and picked up the dresser, happy that it was relatively light, while Luana got a matching poster.

As we were all finished shopping, we went up to the store owner with everything that we have.

"Hello there everyone, the total for all of the items is three thousand Pokédollars, are you guys going to do a split payment?" The owner said.  
"Hi, I'll pay for all of the items!" I said as I took out some Pokédollars as everyone started to protest.

"But sweetheart, you already help out a lot, the least I can do is pay for the stuff everyone picked up!" Luana said as she and everyone else tried giving some money to the owner.

"I insist on helping out with me and Wendy's share, you guys always help us out so we can pay this time!" Sven said.

"I was invited to hang out with all of you, please let me pay for the items, three thousand Pokédollars isn't too bad!" Linda said as Luana and I went ahead and paid for the items despite everyone's continued protests as I chuckled to myself.

"Thank you very much, enjoy your items. You've got two great friends there!" The owner said as we waved goodbye and exited the marketplace.

As we were walking back to the Ranger Union with our items in hand, Linda walked over to us with a big smile on her face while Sven and Wendy were a little bit behind us talking.

"Thanks for buying everyone's items Kellyn! The next time you guys go out to eat, I'll pay for your dinners in advance as thanks." Linda said.

"No way Linda! Sven and I are doing that next time!" Wendy said as we both laughed.

"We appreciate that, but we wanted to make Linda less stressed and besides, we figured that helping out our friends would be a nice thing to do! Let's go put these things in our rooms and then head back out to do some quests!" Luana said happily as we entered the Ranger Union.

"That's so nice of you guys, I really appreciate it. I'll hurry back downstairs quickly once I'm done decorating my room!" Linda said as she ran upstairs while Luana and I headed to our room with Sven and Wendy a few feet behind us.

"Luana! Kellyn! Before you guys decorate your room, we wanted to thank you. You've both been so nice to us and you're both really great friends. I could see how happy Linda was when she heard she would be spending time with us." Sven said with a smile.

"It's no problem at all guys, we're happy to be friends with you guys too! We're glad Linda is enjoying herself, after you guys finish decorating your room, let us know!" I said.

"We will, thanks guys, Wendy and I will think of a nice gift to get you guys!" Sven said as they went inside their room.

Luana and I entered our room as the light switch came on, we went over to the old dressers and took out our pajamas and Ranger uniforms and placed them on the bed, we both figured that the best spot to put the new dresser was where the old one was.

"Don't worry Kellyn, I'll take both of the old dressers to the receptionist, maybe she can put shelves in it to help her with all that paperwork!" Luana said with a smile as she easily lifted one of the dressers up.

"That's a great idea Luana, I'll put this new dresser where the old ones were!" I said as Luana winked at me and exited the room.

I went ahead and moved the new dresser and opened the doors, seeing how amazing the inside looked with Mudkip and Eevee silhouettes on the back while the sides had the same design as the front with Mudkip and Eevee peacefully resting by each other.

I got the pajamas and Ranger uniforms and put them inside the dresser, still being able to see some of the silhouettes due to the design and as I closed the dresser, I saw how great the Eevee and Mudkip looked, they really did look like Luana and I considering how peaceful they looked next to each other. I heard the door open as Luana entered the room with a smile on her face.

"Hi Luana, did you give the dresser to the receptionist?" I said.

"I did, she likes how it looks, I'll bring the other one to her!" Luana said as she took the other dresser and left the room.

As I turned around, I noticed the adorable matching poster that Luana got and I decided the best place to put it would be above the bed. When I finished putting the poster up, the door opened as I saw Luana with a blush on her face.

"Hi Luana, hopefully the receptionist can make good use of both those dressers!" I said.

"She certainly will, she was so happy to get those dressers from us! I have a present for you, close your eyes!" Luana said as I did so.

Within a few seconds, I felt Luana's lips meet my own as she embraced me, my face starting to feel hot as Luana continued kissing me, after a while, we both came up for air as Luana had a smirk on her face.

"You did a wonderful job decorating, so that was your present! Did you like it?" Luana said as she continued to blush.

"I loved it, thank you Luana!" I said as I gave Luana a quick kiss on the lips.

"You're welcome, let's see if everyone else is done decorating their rooms!" Luana said as we both headed outside.

Wendy and Sven were sitting by the receptionist desk talking while Linda just came back downstairs, Luana and I made our way over to them quickly since we didn't want to keep them waiting too long.

"Hi guys, how did the decorating go?" Linda said.

"It went great, the dresser looks really nice in our room and looks even better with the poster! How do your decorations look? The Pikachu items and the Pokéball lamp were pretty cool looking!" I said.

"The lamp fits really well in the room, it casts a little Pokéball on the ceiling when the lights are off!" Sven said.

"That's awesome! My Pikachu rug and poster look really great with my room, they really stand out but I love the design! Once we head back from the Chroma Ruins, we can all go to my room on the third floor if you guys would like!" Linda said happily.

"That's a great idea Linda! Let's head out to do some quests, Sven, do you or Wendy have any available quests nearby? Do you guys need anything before we go into pairs?" Luana said as we all walked on Union Road.

"Hmm, we have three quests, one is in Vientown while two of them are at the Ranger School. We don't need anything but if we do, we'll let you guys know!" Sven said as him and Wendy waved and jogged off.

"They're energetic today! Now let's what quests we have to do…we have one open to us at the moment where we need to help out an elderly lady who's located in Pueltown, she needs a Pokémon that can sing. That sounds fun, let's go!" Luana said as we all continued to walk along Union Road.

"Luana, Kellyn, I'm curious, I know that the both of you work really hard to protect everyone, but what made you two decide to become so dedicated to be Rangers?" Linda said as I got fidgety.

"W-well, one of the reasons I decided to become a Ranger was because of how I was illtreated by some kids when I was younger. I tried my best to become a Ranger once I was able to do so because I knew what it was like to be made fun of and I had to protect people and Pokémon from getting harmed in any way. When I first met Luana, I…I knew immediately that while I had to protect everyone I could from being harmed, my top priority was my family and Luana. When I saw Luana cry, it broke my heart and I knew I had to protect her as best as I could. I do feel very stressed out sometimes, but if I can see Luana's beautiful smile, then I don't mind." I said as Luana gave me a big smile.

"That's very sweet Kellyn, I would say that the same goes for me, I can't stand seeing people or Pokémon suffer, especially those I care about. I was also treated horribly by kids when I was little. I was always told that I couldn't become a Ranger but when I went to the Ranger School, I loved how fun it was to do captures on Pokémon. Anytime I see Kellyn cry, it just makes me want to cry as well, he's so wonderful, I can't stand seeing him sad. When I met Kellyn, I also knew that making sure he was safe was something that I had to do, he's my partner after all!" Luana said.

"Aww, you guys are awesome Top Rangers, I'm happy that the two of you are working with the Ranger Union. I can also understand why you guys care so much about protecting each other since neither of you would want anyone getting hurt. I think that Sven and Wendy are quite sweet as well!" Linda said happily.

"I agree, Wendy and Sven are very adorable together! I really care about Kellyn, when it comes to him, my heart would shatter if he was ever seriously hurt. Anytime he's injured, my anger just increases because of him being harmed and I do what I can to protect him." Luana said.

"That's awesome! I think that just shows how dedicated you are towards helping Kellyn and making sure he's safe." Linda said with a smile as we reached Pueltown.

We eventually found the elderly woman after walking around quite a bit and as we approached her, she had a smile on her face, eager to have someone help her with her quest.

"Hello ma'am, we're here to help you with your quest! We were informed that you needed a Pokémon that can sing!" I said.

"Hello there, that's correct, I only need one Chatot! Thank you very much!" The elderly lady said as we all went in a group, looking for a Chatot.

After a short while of looking, we finally found a Chatot as it was lazily hopping around near a few houses. I quickly captured the Chatot after I avoided its' Hyper Voice and Sing. We all quickly went back to the elderly woman as she became overjoyed upon seeing the Chatot.

"Thank you! I'll be able to make some music for my grandson with the help of this Chatot. Thank you Rangers, I appreciate your help!" The elderly women said as she and the Chatot walked away.

After a few seconds, Luana's Styler started to ring, when she answered, I could tell that it was from Marcus as she promptly picked up.

"Hi guys, great work on completing the quest! I'll get you guys the Power Up data now! By the way, is Linda with the both of you at the moment?" Marcus said.

"Hi Marcus, she is! You can talk with her if you'd like, she seems quite relaxed now compared to earlier!" Luana said as she handed the phone over to Linda.

"Hello Marcus, I'm doing good. Hanging out with Kellyn and Luana is fun, I'm enjoying myself quite a bit! We'll be heading to Chroma Ruins once Kellyn and Luana do some quests!" Linda said.

"Good, I'm happy to hear that! Rhythmi wanted me to make sure that you're okay since we're all close friends. I had to tell her how stressed you were and she said that you getting some time off is just what you needed! If you need anything, just call! Bye!" Marcus said.

"Bye Marcus, I appreciate how concerned you and Rhythmi were, bye!" Linda said as Marcus hanged up as Linda gave Luana her Styler back.

I quickly got a notification on my Styler and saw that it indicated we received the Power Up data which meant that we took three less damage from Grass moves. I also glanced at the time, noticing it was 11:14 A.M. Only twenty-one more quests to go!

"Good news, we have another quest available to us, we have to head to the Ranger Union to help out Murph! His quest involves us finding him a trio of Chatot, seems like that Pokémon is rather popular. This should be a simple quest since we're already in Pueltown!" I said as we all looked around for Chatots.

Luana and I captured one Chatot each while we both couldn't help but smile as Linda was bringing the third one towards us with the Pokémon in her hair. As we started to head through Union Road, I once again felt uneasy and nervous, though much less than previously.

Luana helped me out by locking arms with me as we continued to walk down Union Road, reaching the Ranger Union in a matter of minutes. As all three of us entered the Ranger Union, we saw Murph filing away some paperwork by the receptionist desk, he smiled at us as we approached him.

"Hello guys, I'm glad you're all doing well, thank you for bringing me the Chatot I needed, Vatona and Nage needed two of them for some research. I just needed one of them because their music helps me get to sleep with how peaceful they sound. Ah, hello Linda, very nice to see you, did you bring that Chatot for me?" Murph said shyly as Linda blushed.

"That's right, I tried my best. I don't have awesome Stylers like Kellyn or Luana do, but I figured that I should help in some way!" Linda said as she giggled and took out the Chatot that was still in her hair, gently handing it to Murph.

"T-thank you, everyone. I've been feeling stressed out lately so this Chatot will really come in handy. Thank you once again, I have to help Vatona and Nage now, bye!" Murph said as we handed him the two other Chatots.

Murph smiled at us and quickly ran up the escalator with two Chatots on his shoulder while the one Linda handed to him remained on his head. Shortly afterwards, we all exited the Ranger Union and were by the entrance as we saw how fidgety Linda was being, which made us both chuckle slightly.

"Linda, why don't you tell Murph you have a crush on him? He's a very friendly person and he's very knowledgeable as well!" I said.

"I-I know, he's amazing. I think I'll tell him how I feel tonight. Murph, Rhythmi and Marcus have been helping me out with regards to my performance on being an Operator and how stressed I am." Linda said happily.

"I think that's sweet! I recommend getting something to help Murph out too, since he was said stressed out because of his job. Maybe you and him could spend some time together after you hang out with Sven and Wendy tomorrow?" Luana said.

"That's a great idea, thanks for the help guys! What other quests do you two have to do?" Linda said as I checked my Styler.

"It's no problem, you're welcome Linda! As for what quests is open to us…there's a man who says that there's a Pokémon trapped up in Peril Cliffs, he's located by the log cabin on Union Road, let's go!" I said as we all headed over to the log cabin.


	27. Chapter 27: Exploring the Chroma Ruins

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

**A/N: The main cast finally get to explore the Chroma Ruins but at the very end, something unexpected happens!**

Chapter 27: Exploring the Chroma Ruins

Within a few minutes, we all reached the log cabin as we saw a man eagerly trying to get our attention. As we approached him, we could see the worried look on his face.

"Hi there, can you tell us more information about the Pokémon that's trapped? Did you happen to see how it got trapped to begin with?" I said.

"Hello Rangers, the Pokémon is a Bellossom, I've seen it around this area earlier and when I decided to head up Peril Cliffs, I noticed the same Bellossom being chased by a Staravia only a few minutes ago near a giant boulder. Staravia are very territorial so it's possible the Bellossom went near its' area. Please help it out!" The man said.

"Don't worry we will, thanks for the information!" Luana said as we headed to Peril Cliffs.

Upon reaching there, we could see a few Cherrim hopping around the area near the vines, they were rather friendly and started to hop up and down and get closer to us.

Linda curiously picked one up and the Cherrim started pointing to something, as we all turned, we saw the Bellossom quite a distance from us, running away quickly from the Staravia, which seemed more aggressive than usual. We thanked the Cherrim as Linda quickly put it down and ran over to the vines and started to climb up them.

"Linda, if you're having any trouble, let us know and we'll help you out!" I said as I noticed Linda was keeping up with us.

"No worries, I've never climbed vines before, this is fun! I hope that Bellossom will be able to continue running until one of you can safely capture that Staravia!" Linda said.

"You've never climbed vines before? You're very good at it, hopefully we get to that Bellossom soon, that Staravia looks really mad!" Luana said as we made our way to a large patch of solid ground where there was a springy leaf in front of a giant boulder.

"Thank you, I'm curious, what is that giant leaf? It looks quite different from any vegetation I've seen before!" Linda said.

"This is a springy leaf, I remember when Barlow, Luana and I explored here when Rampardos were rampaging in Peril Cliffs. Barlow mentioned these springy leaves when he would play here as a child, they're actually really awesome, Luana and I will show you, look!" I said as I went on the springy leaf and got launched in the air, quickly making my way over to the other side of the huge boulder while Luana made her way over shortly afterwards. Linda momentarily joined us afterwards and was rather excited that she was able to go on the springy leaf.

"Wow, that's amazing! Now that we're all across, let's go find that Bellossom! I'll try not to be too slow!" Linda said as we continued onwards.

A few yards away, we noticed the Bellossom on the other side of a clearing where there were two Gligar flying around…along with an Aerodactyl and the Staravia nearby it. I nervously looked over the cliff edge and saw that if we fell, it would be a far drop down, with nothing to break our fall. However, past the Pokémon, I saw the Bellossom on a small ledge.

"Linda, Luana, I have an idea. Luana and I will try getting those Gligar and that Aerodactyl over here, they look like they'll knock us off if we even go close to them. After that, we'll try getting that Staravia. Linda, you should go over to where that boulder is, I noticed that there's a small crevasse there and you'll be safer since that Aerodactyl is the biggest threat with its Hyper Beam. I want you to stay close to the ground because of that, even though you'll be inside the small crevasse, the Gligar and Aerodactyl will aim their attacks at us, which means that there's the chance any of their attacks could hit you. The Gligar won't be too much of a danger but I know that if these ones in particular are hostile, it won't be good and they'll try attacking you. How does that idea sound?" I said.

"That's a wonderful idea, it'll be dangerous but the two of you can do it!" Linda said as she went into the crevasse and huddled close to the ground.

"We got this Kellyn! Gligar, come over here!" Luana said as she jumped up and down and waved her arms, while I did the same.

The two Gligar, just as expected, were furious and quickly made their way over to where we were, with the Aerodactyl noticing its friends gone, it soon followed them. As the Gligar got closer, Luana and I started making loops around each one, we were able to get their friendship meters halfway filled until the one Luana was trying to capture tried tackling her, breaking her Capture Line briefly.

We continued making loops around the Pokémon and I was able to capture mine, while a few seconds later, Luana captured hers as well. Upon seeing our capture, the Aerodactyl became enraged as it let out a fierce roar, it dove at us quickly and missed, though it was able to damage some of the ground around us as it started to charge up a Hyper Beam, Luana was able to make a few loops around it right before it launched a Hyper Beam at us.

Thankfully, we were able to avoid it as it shattered the giant boulder, turning it into small pebbles instantly. We both used this to our advantage as the Aerodactyl needed to rest a bit and I proceeded to make several loops around it. After a while, the Aerodactyl attempted to charge up another Hyper Beam and I quickly noticed that we had its friendship meter almost full as the Staravia seemed to be getting more agitated as it continued to fly around.

Since the Aerodactyl needed to rest again, I decided to make a few more loops around it as its friendship meter was full, indicating that we captured all three Pokémon besides the Staravia, which was absolutely enraged as it flew down and tried slashing us with its talons. Luana managed to make some loops around it as it focused on attacking me and after only a few loops, the Staravia was caught.

The Staravia quickly calmed down and flew away, towards Vien forest. Luana and I hopped on the Aerodactyl's back and had it fly over the large gap while I gently picked up the shivering Bellossom. When we headed back over the gap, I released the Gligar and Aerodactyl while Luana and I went over to the crevasse where Linda was.

"That was really amazing work you two! I was a bit scared because of how angry that Aerodactyl was, but other than that, it was awesome to see you two in action. Hello Bellossom, you don't have to be scared now, two amazing Top Rangers rescued you!" Linda said which made the Bellossom jump up and down.

"Thank you Linda, we're glad you enjoyed us capturing those Pokémon! Let's head back down and show the man the Bellossom is safe!" Luana said as we all headed back to the log cabin where the man was waiting outside, I gently put the Bellossom down as it danced around the three of us.

"You three got the Bellossom, thank you so much! This Pokémon always pays us a visit and makes my daughter happy. It's good to see you again Bellossom, would you like to eat some berries? I have some left over!" The man said as the Bellossom bounced up and down as it happily walked inside.

"Alright, quest complete! Only twenty quests to go!" I said as we all high fived each other.

"That was a pretty fun quest, though it was also really scary with that Aerodactyl's Hyper Beams! You two did amazing work!" Linda said.

"Thank you Linda, we always try our best! It's tough but we enjoy it!" Luana said.

Within a few moments, I received a notification on my Styler that indicated we received the Power Up data for reducing Normal type damage by three.

"Nice, we're doing pretty good! Let's see what other quests we have available for us to do…aww, there aren't any more, we've done all the quests in the surrounding areas so far. Do you guys want to see where Sven and Wendy are?" I said.

"That's a good idea, maybe they're done with their quests now! Let me give them a call." Luana said as she called Wendy, after a few rings, she picked up.

"Hi Luana, Sven and I are finished with our quests, are you guys headed to the Chroma Ruins or do you still have some quests to do? We'll be inside at the bottom of the stairs!" Wendy said.

"Hi Wendy, we just finished our last quest. We'll be right over at Chroma Ruins! See you!" Luana said as she hanged up the Styler.

"Wow, the four of you are very efficient! Let's walk over to Chroma Ruins then, I can't wait to explore!" Linda said.

"How about we fly there? Have you been on a Staraptor yet? It's fun!" Luana said.

"F-fly there? I haven't ever been on a Staraptor but we can try it!" Linda said.

"Sounds good, I'll try getting a couple of Staraptor since we all can't fit on one! I know there's always a few by the Ranger Union. The two of you can stay here if you'd like, I won't be long!" I said.

"Good idea Kellyn, Linda and I will look at the beautiful flowers here!" Luana said as she winked at me, making my face feel hot as I turned and ran to get the two Staraptors.

I continued down Union Road and was somewhat close to the Ranger Union when I saw a few Staraptors flying around by some trees. I used my Capture Disc and started to make loops around two Staraptors, capturing them quickly, afterwards, I hopped on one of them as I made my way towards Linda and Luana while the other one followed. Within a couple of minutes, I saw both of them as they were happily admiring the flowers while I had the Staraptors land on the ground.

"Hi, I got the Staraptors, are you two ready to fly?" I said as Luana immediately got on, while Linda cautiously went on the second one.

"I'm ready to go, don't worry Linda, the Staraptor will go slow!" Luana said.

"Thanks guys, I'm not afraid of heights but riding on a Staraptor will be something I can finally do!" Linda said.

"Good! Feeling the breeze in your hair will be amazing, you'll completely forget that you're in the air! Alright Staraptors, please slowly take us to Chroma Ruins!" I said as the Pokémon took off.

Within a few minutes, we made it to Chroma Ruins as I released the Staraptor, I took a glance at my Styler, noticing it was 12:40 P.M. and how excited we were, since we were going to enter the Ruins. We made our way inside and at the bottom of the steps, we saw Sven and Wendy, just as giddy as us.

"Hi guys, we're glad the three of you got here so quick! We checked out this area for any Pokémon and didn't notice any! The areas that were previously inaccessible are all cleared up now! Don't worry, we didn't explore without you guys! Are you three ready?" Sven said.

"Yes we are, we've been waiting to explore these Ruins for a long time! Let's take the right path first!" I said as we went to the right path and found a dead end with no Pokémon in sight.

We turned around and headed to the other path as we saw a narrow area where there was a Sandshrew and a muddy patch. The Sandshrew walked over to Sven and started to slash at him with its claws, which Sven narrowly avoided. I took this opportunity to quickly draw lines around the Sandshrew as Sven continued running away from it. After a short while of the Sandshrew continuously attempting to slash as Sven, I caught the Sandshrew as it immediately calmed down.

"I've seen Pokémon chase us and attack us, but that Sandshrew seemed like it was traumatized by something. Remember how we said Team Dim Sun could have caused the rocks to fall? If they were the reason, then it's possible that they're doing something to the Pokémon!" Luana said as she gently petted the Sandshrew.

"Knowing Team Dim Sun, they're already here! They have to be deeper in the Ruins, that would explain that muddy patch over there!" Wendy said.

"Well then, let's hurry! Sandshrew, use Dig on that muddy patch!" I said as Sandshrew nodded and went over to the patch, digging it up easily while making an opening big enough for us to go through.

The small Pokémon jumped down from what looked like a seven foot drop, I did the same and landed on my feet while I motioned for everyone else to follow. Luana followed first as I caught her in my arms, while Sven and Wendy followed afterwards, with Sven catching Wendy first. Linda was the last to hop down as Luana and I caught her since she was understandably a little nervous considering Team Dim Sun could be nearby. As we explored the room, it was vastly different from the previous one, it was large and had several corridors, with quite a bit of light seeping through three of them while we also saw a couple of Drifblim quickly floating around.

"Sandshrew, can you please tell us where we should go to? We don't know our way around this area but we'll be more than happy to find the bad people who did this to you, we're not like them, we don't mean you any harm. Are any of your friends nearby?" I said as the Sandshrew happily nodded as it continued down to where the Drifblim were.

After the Sandshrew and the two Drifblim had their conversation, the three of them went towards the opening that was at the very end of the area. The Drifblim both started to dance around until they got Luana and I as they took both of us up, followed by Sven and Wendy along with Linda and the Sandshrew.  
"Thanks for your help Drifblim! Sandshrew, I was wondering if you would follow us until we reach the end of the Chroma Ruins. We can really use your help!" Luana said.

The Sandshrew seemed to be thinking for a moment until it excitedly jumped up and down which made us happy to have it tag along with us. Taking a quick glance around the room, I noticed how much brighter it was compared to the other floors. There were several holes in the ground along with a few Koffing which didn't notice us yet. We all huddled together as I contemplated how to get past those Koffing. I jumped as I felt someone tap my shoulder and saw it was Linda.

"H-hi, s-sorry about that! Those Koffing over there are dangerous, as you guys know, they'll release poisonous gas which will either make you sick or drain your Styler's energy. Considering that Sandshrew didn't go up to them, I assume they aren't his friends. I also heard that there's a dangerous Pokémon at the bottom of these Ruins, far more deadlier than those Koffing. Since Sandshrew is a Ground type, it'll take less damage from a Poison type Pokémon! What I think we can do is have Sandshrew distract them while we see which opening leads us to the right way." Linda said.

"Linda, that's a great idea! Okay Sandshrew, go distract those Koffing!" Luana said as Sandshrew got the attention of the Koffing.

The two Pokémon started to chase after Sandshrew while we continued deeper into the cave as we tried our best to see which opening was the right one.

"Let's see…out of these four holes, it looks like three of them will lead to us getting impaled. That's terrifying, it's a good thing it's not dark in this part of the Ruins! Sandshrew, we found the right opening!" I said as Sandshrew came running to us, with the Koffing in hot pursuit.

We all quickly jumped through while the Sandshrew came down last and used Sand Attack on the Koffing once they got closer, we quickly decided to run down the narrow hallway so that once they recover, they won't see us.

After running for a short while, we came to a left turn. I felt very uneasy and I immediately held everyone back, as I cautiously looked around the corner, I could see why I felt so nervous, there were at least a dozen Team Dim Sun grunts, along with a pair of admins who appeared to be checking some of the crystals. There was an opening at the back of the cavern which I assumed either lead to more grunts and mind-controller Pokémon, a dead end, or a combination of all three. As I continued to look, I saw some Pokémon such as Machoke and Machamp being controlled with Miniremos, while they were being commanded to dig for more shards. Seeing those poor Pokémon like that made me angry and I could tell that once I turned around with the expression on my face that I managed to scare everyone.

"Guys, we need to be careful, the area up ahead is swarming with grunts. They're excavating fragments, it has to be for them to make more Miniremos or maybe something more sinister! We need to think of a plan. Of course, we can't use Sandshrew as a distraction because he'll get attacked by all those Pokémon there. Any other ideas?" I said in a hushed tone.

"Heh, there are these smoke balls I bought when I went to the marketplace with Wendy the other day. I bought them just because they looked cool but when I dropped one of them, we were surprised they actually worked, though we had to stay out of our room for at least ten minutes! I got twelve of them, that should be good enough!" Sven said as he showed us the smoke balls which were transparent and surrounded with smoke swirling inside.

"That's perfect, let's throw them at those grunts! Hopefully it's enough to make them scatter!" Linda said as we tossed a few of the smoke balls.

Just as expected from the screaming we heard, the smoke balls were very effective as it made the Team Dim Sun members start to panic and become disorientated as they tried to flee from the smoke. What I didn't expect was how much the smoke actually covered, once I decided it would be safe to look, I saw that the room was completely covered in smoke. I assumed that all of the grunts and the admins had fled, so I figured now would be the best time to run.

"Okay everyone, the room is covered with smoke, but thankfully, the room itself isn't too big. I saw an opening in the back, let's head there quickly!" I said.

The smoke was hard to go through at first, even as we tried moving our hands around to dissipate it, however, we figured the best thing to do for now is head to the back. We figured that destroying the Miniremos once the smoke clears would be the safest option since Sandshrew wouldn't be in danger. The important thing is that when we destroy any remaining Miniremos, we won't have to worry about the Pokémon in this area since they should be free from mind-control. Eventually, we all made it to the end where the opening was while Sven and Wendy caught their breath.

"Awesome work, did you hear how loud they were? Thanks to teamwork, we did it! Sandshrew, can you see if it's possible to destroy those Miniremos? I know the smoke makes it hard to see but since the cave is usually dark, you'll have an advantage over us." Linda said as Sandshrew nodded and went back inside the fog.

After a few seconds, we all listened as we heard the Miniremos being smashed by Sandshrew as it quickly came back.

"Wow Linda, good thinking! Now we don't even have to wait for the smoke to clear and we can head onwards! Nice work Sandshrew!" Wendy said as we went continued running deeper into the Ruins down a long corridor.

"T-thanks Wendy, I remember studying about Pokémon that lived in the Chroma Ruins when I was younger and visited the Ruins quite often as well when I was little. There was this one Pokémon I read about that was extremely dangerous, it was called…Spiritomb. What I heard was that it was reclusive and avoided other Pokémon and humans, however, when it was approached, it became very deadly by using flames and ghostly mist to ward anything off. Since it'll still be here and most likely at the very bottom of the Ruins, we need to be very careful. I don't want you guys getting hurt." Linda said.

"No need to be worried, Linda, we'll be safe! What other Pokémon can you tell us about? Are there any other serious dangers here that you remember reading about?" Luana said.

"The only other danger that I can remember is something about a giant crystal around the area the Spiritomb was. I don't remember much about the crystal itself or why it was guarded, but I'm very certain it's that giant Shadow Crystal, that's all I can remember from what I've read, I'm sorry everyone." Linda said as we reached the end of the long corridor.

"Don't apologize Linda, that's very useful information! If the Shadow Crystal really is down here, we have to find it before Team Dim Sun does!" I said as we picked up the pace.

Soon after, a small tremor happened which made all of us grab each other's arms for some form of stability and after a while, the rumbling stopped.

"W-what was that?! Could it be an earthquake?!" Wendy said.

"It can't be, Chroma Ruins isn't on any fault lines, it has to be a Pokémon doing it!" Linda said.

"Looks like we have to hustle then, if that Pokémon decides to continue making this whole place shake like that, we're done for!" Luana said.

We eventually ended up in a large room with a giant hole on the far left and upon heading over to it and looking down, we saw that the drop was about eight feet. Sandshrew went down first and after confirming it was safe, we all hopped down as everyone observed the new room we were in.

The room itself led to an area with two different paths, one at the very end of the room, which presumably led deeper into the cave, and one in the middle. I cautiously went to the opening of the middle room and noticed nothing, even when I entered the room, I noticed nothing at first until I felt myself shivering slightly.

Figuring something was behind me, I quickly turned around as I came face to face with a Gengar, which was surprised that I discovered it as it became stunned. However, I wasn't scared in the least, mainly thanks to Luana repeatedly scaring me.

I used the Gengar being stunned to my advantage as I quickly drew loops around it and captured it in no time, afterwards, the Gengar started jumping around happily. After I caught the Gengar, I left the room and showed the happy Pokémon as it greeted everyone.

"A Gengar?! Perfect, we'll need all the help we can get when we fight that Spiritomb or any other enemy! Nice job Kellyn!" Luana said as she winked at me.

"Thanks, if we see any more grunts, maybe we can scare them away! Hopefully that Spiritomb isn't down there, but if it is, we'll be fine. Let's keep going!" I said as we went down the other pathway, finding a large room with a Kirlia and a few Drifblim, along with an area leading even deeper underground in the center of the room, however, the biggest issue was a Team Dim Sun admin and a grunt we saw skulking in the corner examining some Shadow Crystal shards.

"Heh, about time we started making Pokémon do the work for us! How many more of these weird crystals do we need for the boss anyway? We've been here for a few days and we're running out of crystals. I also heard that some of the other admins are pretty angry, apparently someone threw smoke balls at them and when they came back, their Miniremos were destroyed." The grunt said.

"I agree, having those Machoke and Machamp extract the crystals for us is so much easier. As for how much crystals we need for the boss, we just need to collect all of them or as much as we can. Those admins can get angry all they want, they were stupid for leaving their Miniremos to get destroyed. Let's head to the bottom of these Ruins, we need to check up on that Spiritomb, it's not too far from here." The admin said as both of them hopped down the hole and went deeper in the Ruins.

"Let's follow them and try ambushing them, we have a Gengar with us so it won't be too difficult. We should capture that Kirlia to teleport us away in case Team Dim Sun has any tricks up their sleeve, it's Psychic powers can be essential to helping us." I said as I quietly snuck up on the Kirlia as the Gengar carefully held it in place with ghostly mist.

I quickly made a few loops around the Kirlia and captured it quickly as it got registered in our Browser as I motioned for everyone to come to where I was. As everyone looked around the room, I could see hundreds of hollow spots where crystal shards once were.

"Wow, it's unsettling to think that Team Dim Sun was here for a long time having those Pokémon to collect these shards. Let's capture these Drifblim too, we need all the help we can get!" Luana said as she and Wendy captured both Drifblim.

"I agree, I wonder what they did to the Spiritomb at the bottom. Hopefully most of the other Team Dim Sun members are elsewhere, though with the Friend Pokémon all of you have, we should be safe!" Linda said as we all jumped down the hole and found ourselves in a long corridor.

As we continued to walk onwards, we noticed the same grunt and admin from before as they started to run right as us before quickly stopping in their tracks as the grunt slipped and fell on the ground several feet from us. Even with one of them at a disadvantage, one admin and a grunt can still be a serious threat, so I stepped in front of Linda and Sven while Luana got in front of Wendy.

"R-Rangers?! Wait, this is perfect! Rangers, prepare to die!" The admin said as he took out his Miniremo.

"No, let's just get out of here! Those dumb admins over there are trying to control that Spiritomb!" The grunt said as the admin ignored him while he summoned a Pokémon.

Soon after, we heard a rumbling sound as a Golem emerged from a rock wall, terrifying Linda and the grunt as both of them trembled, which led to the admin cackling as if he became insane.

"Forget this, I'm leaving this place and Team Dim Sun! Hey, summon a Ralts or something for me, I'm headed back to my home! I'm sorry for what I've done Rangers, goodbye!" The grunt said as the admin begrudgingly summoned an Abra which teleported him away.

"Now that the grunt won't get hurt, crush those two Rangers protecting the rest of them and then I'll get a promotion!" The admin said as the Golem started to roll towards us.

"Kirlia, use Teleport on that Golem so it ends up in that rock wall! Gengar, use Hypnosis on that admin!" I said.

Kirlia use Teleport on the Golem which made it crash into the wall, making a large rumble that slightly shook the area while Gengar used Hypnosis on the admin as he was typing on his Miniremo, causing the admin to fall asleep instantly. I destroyed the Miniremo while Luana moved the admin out of the way and we all shortly continued onwards.

"Great work with the Gengar and Kirlia! We're near the end of the Ruins and we're about to fight Spiritomb, we got this!" Luana said.

"Thanks, the Spiritomb will be challenging but we'll be able to capture it! Its attacks are going to be powerful so let's be extra cautious!" I said.

When we reached halfway down the long corridor, I saw the Spiritomb as it was being controlled just like all the other Pokémon, however, this Pokémon appeared to not only be suffering, but incredibly angry as well. I had to hesitate for a moment as I noticed that two admins were on their Miniremos, laughing to themselves as they continued controlling the Spiritomb.

"I'm enjoying this. Being able to boss around all those stupid grunts was great, now that we were able to extract that giant Shadow Crystal at the back of the cave, we can have this Spiritomb cause issues in the Chroma Ruins! Maybe we can have it go to the Chroma Highlands and kill those two security guards, they were really annoying to get past. What do you think?" An admin said as we crept closer.

"I think that's a good idea, let's head back there! There's an easy way to reach the Chroma Highlands from the back!" The second admin said.

"We don't think so, you two are outnumbered!" Sven said as we all crowded in the small room.

"Hah, Rangers and an Operator? You may think you've outnumbered us, but we got this Spiritomb to slow you down. Too bad we have to stay here, but we'll enjoy seeing this Pokémon defeat all of you Rangers!" The first admin said as they both started typing on their Miniremos.

While they were distracted, I had Gengar scare the first one, which made him become surprised and stop moving as the Gengar snatched his Miniremo away as I destroyed it. As the second admin continued typing, I had Kirlia teleport to him and attempt to take the Miniremo away, though the Spiritomb saw this and tried attacking the Kirlia with a Shadow Ball which Kirlia barely managed to avoid by teleporting back to me.

"It's too risky to get that Miniremo. Since we have to fight this Spiritomb, be prepared for a tough battle! We'll take turns, this Pokémon won't be going down without a fight!" I said as I had Gengar use its Poke Assist and produce ghostly mist to make sure that the Spiritomb didn't attack as much.

I used this to my advantage as I made several loops around the Pokémon, after it got about a quarter full, it started to charge up an attack as the second admin used the Spiritomb as a shield to prevent us from taking his Miniremo while the first admin continued to cheer him on.

"Everyone, get on the ground and take cover!" I said as the Spiritomb made its face into more of a malevolent grin then it already was, as it launched a purple flamethrower a few seconds afterwards which scorched the walls around me.

The two admins started to cheer as I checked behind me, breathing heavily as I saw everyone was safe, though understandably shaken up. The Spiritomb looked exhausted after using that flamethrower attack so I had Gengar summon more ghostly mist while I had Kirlia hold the first admin in place. Now that the Spiritomb was unable to attack, I had Luana take over to make some more loops around the Pokémon, though it managed to launch a ball of electrical energy, it was still considerably tired thanks to the mist.

Luana continued to make loops, while I had Sandshrew dig underground so it can go underneath where the admin is. When the Sandshrew reached where the admin was and made a large hole, I nodded to Kirlia as the admin was dropped and starting to struggle. The second admin noticed his friend and went to go help him, leaving the Miniremo unattended as I had Sandshrew slash it with his claws, destroying the machine. Kirlia then quickly teleported over to Sandshrew as both of them went behind Linda.

I was surprised that the Spiritomb was still fighting, with Luana continuously making dozens of loops and she avoided an electric ball tossed by the Spiritomb infrequently due to its tiredness. However, the two admins started to cackle, despite one of them still being partially trapped.

"Hahah, what we didn't tell you Rangers, was that were able to finally control this Spiritomb which is even more helpful since it's so close to the Shadow Crystal. If a Ranger is able to capture this terrifying Pokémon, they'll be able to break the hold we have over it. Too bad none of you can do that!" The second admin said as he continued to laugh.

"If any Ranger can do, this group can! You guys can do it!" Linda said.

"That's right, you're up Sven!" Luana said as Sven switched places with her.

I was relieved when I saw that Spiritomb's friendship meter was halfway full, though I also noticed that Gengar's Poke Assist was about to finish and it looked like Spiritomb was gaining its strength back.

"Okay Gengar, use more of that ghostly mist to wear that Spiritomb down!" Sven said as Gengar created more ghostly mist, which increased Spiritomb's friendship meter as some of it connected.

Sven then made several loops around Spiritomb as it started to charge up another attack. Sven braced himself as it used a Dark Pulse attack, aimed at several different areas near Sven, one of the dark pulses managed to hit Sven as he took some damage, though he continued to make loops around the Pokémon. Unfortunately, Gengar's Poke Assist ended as it disappeared back to its habitat while the two admins looked relieved, though they simply watched us as we slowly filled Spiritomb's friendship meter.

"I'm getting a bit tired, you'll be fine Wendy, just watch out for its movements!" Sven said as Wendy took over.

Wendy managed to make several loops around the Spiritomb as it was able to shake off the effects of fatigue that the Gengar caused as I saw that the friendship meter was about eighty percent filled. Eventually, it started to charge up a purple Flamethrower as everyone but myself and Wendy ducked for cover, Wendy was still making loops around the Spiritomb as I grabbed her and pulled her to the ground, right as the Flamethrower was about to hit her.

"Don't worry Wendy, I'll take over from here!" I said as I prepared to battle with Spiritomb.

I continuously made loops around Spiritomb while avoiding its multiple Dark Pulses, though it also quickly launched a small purple flame that started to chase me around. I noticed the capture was nearly complete as I continued to make loops around the Spiritomb and after a few more loops and avoiding the purple flame…Spiritomb was captured.

The Pokémon immediately became much more calmer than normal as it looked around and promptly vanished, leaving us with the two admins, with one of them free from the diversion I had Sandshrew make.  
"Now that we captured the Spiritomb, it's time to bring you two in!" I said as I charged at the two, though they pulled out what looked like an inferior version of the smoke ball and tossed it on the ground, blinding all of us even though I heard Sandshrew's digging. As the smoke cleared after only a minute or so, we all saw the admins trapped in another hole the Sandshrew made.

"Awesome work Sandshrew! Let me call the Ranger Union and bring these two with us…oh no, we're too far underground, how do we get these two to headquarters? They'll just be bothering us the whole time!" Linda said.

"That's a good point Linda, I have an idea! Kirlia, can you please bring these two to the Ranger Union and use your Psychic powers to let the receptionist or anyone know that these two were in Chroma Ruins?" I said as Kirlia nodded and teleported both admins out of the Ruins.

"Good thinking Kellyn, that makes things much easier! I also wanted to thank you for saving me, I was so concerned on capturing the Pokémon that I didn't focus on my well-being. That was foolish of me." Wendy said.

"Don't feel that way, Wendy! You did amazing considering how scary the whole situation was, you simply wanted to catch the Pokémon as quickly as possible considering how dangerous it was!" Luana said.

"Luana's right! Wendy, you went up against a Spiritomb, that's really amazing!" Sven said as Kirlia came back.

"Wendy, don't be so hard on yourself, you and everyone else did a wonderful job! Thank you for the help Kirlia, hope to see you soon! Sandshrew, I was wondering, would you like to be with us at the Ranger Union? You'll be in a nice and warm place surrounded by people and some great Pokémon!" I said as Kirlia teleported away while Sandshrew happily jumped in my arms.

"Awesome, you guys have a new partner! Hopefully that's all you guys have to face, Chairperson Erma and Marcus will love to hear how great you guys did!" Linda said.

"Thanks guys, I feel better now!" Wendy said.

We walked into the next room as we saw a stone staircase leading up to a large hole in the wall, figuring the Shadow Crystal was here, we all cautiously approached it.


	28. Chapter 28: Luana's Amnesia: Part One

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or the Ranger series.**

Chapter 28: Luana's amnesia: Part one

"No…Team Dim Sun already got the Shadow Crystal!" Linda said.

"This is horrible, we have to find out where they plan to take it…but we have no idea where any of their bases are aside from their Cargo Ship. We don't even have the third Gem, we only have two of them!" Wendy said.

"It's troublesome considering we don't know how much members Team Dim Sun even has or how many bases of operation they have. But even if we find more information…what can we do against Team Dim Sun even if we have every Ranger join us at any base they have? Barge right in? Maybe we should ask some other Rangers or Chairperson Erma on what to do once we find one of their bases!" Sven said.

"Sven, don't be frustrated! It'll take a while to get Team Dim Sun, but as long as all of us Rangers and our Pokémon stick together, we'll be able to stop them." I said, which made Sven feel better.

"That's right, think about how many Team Dim Sun operatives we've caught, there are dozens more, but when considering that we've thwarted at least some of their plans, that means that we're doing our jobs as Top Rangers. Now that we know the Shadow Crystal really was down here, let's head back up!" Luana said.

As we were all about to walk through the opening where the Shadow Crystal once was, another tremor happened as we all grabbed each other for some stability, however, a rock ended up falling on Luana's head, knocking her out cold. I quickly checked her for any injuries and when one of my hands went to the back of her head, I pulled back in horror when I felt blood. After a few more seconds of shaking, the trembling stopped. I checked Luana's pulse and breathed a sigh of relief once I felt that she still had one, with everyone looking shocked at Luana's injury. I carried Luana gently in my arms, supporting her head as best as I could, while I removed my Ranger jacket and applied some light pressure to the back of her head.

"W-what are you guys doing?! Let's head to the Ranger Union right now! Wendy, can you call the Ranger Union once we reach the surface and have your Staraptor come to the Chroma Highlands? Tell them that Luana's injury is serious!" I said as we went down the long and narrow pathway which took us back to the surface quickly.

As we exited, we found ourselves near the Chroma Highlands as Wendy went on her Styler to ask for her Staraptor. Linda and Sven both looked around for another Staraptor in the meantime and came back after a few minutes, unable to find any.

"W-we're sorry Kellyn, we couldn't find any Staraptors around here. You'll have to wait for Wendy's Staraptor to get here." Sven said as I checked Luana's pulse once more, growing frantic as I grew impatient for the Staraptor while Sandshrew also appeared frantic.

"Wendy! Where's your Staraptor?!" I said angrily.

"Eep! Don't worry Kellyn, Staraptor is almost here! I tried letting the receptionist know since Marcus didn't pick up, but no one answered downstairs either! We'll head back to the Ranger Union in the meantime!" Wendy said as she, Sven and Linda all started jogging back while I soon saw Wendy's Staraptor coming closer.

After a few minutes, Staraptor landed while Sandshrew hopped in front, while I gently placed Luana in front. I hopped on last while I held Luana tight so she wouldn't fall off.

"Staraptor, please take us to the Ranger Union, it's urgent!" I said as Staraptor quickly took off.

Within minutes, we all reached the Ranger Union as Wendy's Staraptor landed in front, I thanked it as I ran inside with Sandshrew, desperately looking around for a receptionist so I can know if any of the medical rooms were open. I didn't see Sven, Wendy or Linda around, so I assumed they didn't reach yet. As I was about to head to the second floor, I noticed a receptionist come down the escalator as she appeared shocked.

"W-what happened to Luana?!" The receptionist said.

"A rock hit her head, she needs a room ASAP. Are there any open?" I said.

"Oh my, that's horrible! There's the one that was used by you, Sven and Wendy. That room is always empty, I'll let everyone know you came back!" The receptionist said as I nodded and hurried upstairs.

I quickly entered the room as I put Luana down on the hospital bed, afterwards, I called Sven on my Styler, as he picked up after a few rings.

"Hello Kellyn, we're almost at the Ranger Union!" Sven said.

"Hi Sven, I'm in the hospital room that you and Wendy were in. Hopefully a doctor or a nurse can come and help Luana soon, she's still unconscious. See you soon, Sven." I said as I hanged up the Styler.

I went over to the Pikachu phone and dialed the number for the medical area receptionist while I looked at Luana, feeling horrible that she's still unconscious even after several minutes, after a few rings the phone picked up.

"Hello, this is the receptionist for the medical area. How can I help you?" The receptionist said.

"I have a Ranger here who's severely injured, her name is Luana Rakua. Can you please tell me where the doctor is? I know that there are other patients, but…Luana is badly hurt and she's still unconscious." I said.

"Ah, Mr. Hajime, I'll make sure to have a doctor come over right away. Dr. Rhythmi isn't able to help out Luana since he's on vacations, but it'll be your mom instead. She just informed me that she's on her way. If you need anything, please call this number." The receptionist said.

"I understand, thank you! Bye." I said as I hanged up and went over to Luana.

I was relieved that my mother would be making sure Luana makes a full recovery, but at the same time, I couldn't help but feel like crying because of Luana's injury. That rock came out of nowhere, though I feel that I could have pushed her out of the way. I knew I had to be strong though…for Luana, she's stays as strong as she can be, so should I!

I noticed that Luana was shivering violently and looked around for an Altaria blanket, I went to the cabinet they usually were in and was surprised none of them were inside, so I went to a small cabinet by the Pikachu phone and found one which I placed over Luana as she went from shivering to a slight tremble.

I noticed that the bleeding has stopped and I couldn't help but tremble myself when I saw how bloody my Ranger jacket was, Luana appeared to have suffered a serious hit, even worse than I initially thought. After a few seconds of observing Luana and checking her pulse once more, I gave her a small kiss on the cheek as the door opened and Sven, Wendy, Linda, Marcus and my mother all entered the room, with each of them having a worried expression as Wendy and Linda sat down next to Luana's bed.  
"Hi son, I'm sorry I took so long, I heard what happened and rushed over here as fast as I could! I'll run some tests and get a blood transfusion machine running, she's lost quite a bit of blood but since you two share the same blood type, you'll have to give her some blood so some additional tests can be run properly." Mom said as I gave her a hug.

"That's okay mom, I appreciate all of you for coming. If it means Luana will feel even a little bit better because I give her some blood, I'll do it." I said as Mom had the machine transfer some of my blood to Luana in a matter of minutes.

Even though I felt disorientated afterwards, if it meant Luana would be okay, I had no issues with helping her out, she's done the same for me.

"Don't you worry Kellyn, we're here for you and Luana. You two have been through a lot and you've both been capable the whole time! We'll be helping you two out with Luana's recovery, if you two need anything, please tell me and I'll help as best as I can!" Marcus said.

"Marcus is right! Kellyn, I know you're going to feel horrible about the pain that Luana is in and I understand why, but Luana will make a recovery!" Sven said.

"Thank you for the kind words Marcus, I appreciate that everyone will be with Luana as she recovers. Luana hasn't been unconscious for more than an hour but I'm still concerned for her. I've never seen that much blood before." I said as Mom removed the jacket and closed Luana's head wound up by spraying something on it as she started to bandage it up afterwards.

As we all observed the jacket, none of us could help from recoiling once we saw how much blood was actually on it, the jacket was completely soaked in blood considering that I had to apply pressure to Luana's wound as best as I could.

"Mrs. Hajime, that blood transfusion Kellyn did should help Luana out, right?" Linda said.

"Yes Linda, the spray I applied to Luana's wound will prevent her from feeling any pain when she wakes up and will also close up the wound in a few hours." Mom said as Sandshrew started to hop up and down.

"Good, I'm happy she won't be able to feel much pain when she regains consciousness, we all went through a lot in Chroma Ruins. On a more positive note, we got this awesome Sandshrew to join us, it's from the Chroma Ruins and helped us multiple times when dealing with Team Dim Sun grunts that were there." I said.

"Sandshrew has been an adorable Pokémon since we first saw him! I'm still surprised that Team Dim Sun was in the Chroma Ruins, they must have been in there for days, if not longer. After we captured the Spiritomb being controlled by Team Dim Sun, we were able to head into the next room and see an opening where the Shadow Crystal was, it was gigantic." Wendy said as Sandshrew jumped up and down.

"That's right, that Shadow Crystal can probably power thousands of Miniremos! We can't even stop Team Dim Sun at the moment, but we should do what we can to find their bases in the meantime!" Sven said.

"While that does sound like a good idea, you should all rest first. You were all in Chroma Ruins for hours, let some other Rangers try to locate Team Dim Sun's bases, all of you must be exhausted." Mom said.

"But…we have to find out Team Dim Sun's bases in order to stop them before them hurt more people or Pokémon!" I said as I sadly looked over at Luana.

I got up from the chair and tried getting out of the room, though I instantly collapsed as I struggled to stand, though Linda and Marcus helped me back to my feet since they were closest.

"Kellyn! You have to rest, it's not good to overwork yourself. If it wasn't for you guys helping me get some time off, I would have probably collapsed just like you did just now." Linda said as she and Marcus put me in a chair.

"Linda's right, Team Dim Sun will be taken down, they might have a lot of members, but the Ranger Union has you, Luana, Wendy and Sven!" Marcus said.

"Thanks guys, I'll try relaxing for a bit." I said.

I noticed Luana's eyes slowly started to flutter open and we all looked at her with joy as she sat up and stretched, though I could tell something was…off about Luana. There was an expression of confusion on her face that I've only seen when we first saw the Gigaremo in Pueltown controlling the Pokémon there. Luana looked around the room and as she did so, she still had that same expression when looking at everyone, scratching her head as she appeared to be trembling. Did…did she have…amnesia?

"Hi there Luana, we're glad you're awake! You got a hard hit to your head, but you'll be better eventually!" Sven said.

"I-I'm sorry, I don't seem to remember much, I…I don't know what happened to me…I remember that I'm a Top Ranger and that my name's Luana but…nothing else." Luana said.

"R-real funny Luana, you remember all of us! R-right?" Wendy said, on the verge of tears.

"I…I don't remember any of you, I really don't, I'm sorry." Luana said sadly as my mom went up to her.

"Hello Luana, I'm your doctor, Mrs. Hajime. Since you're unable to remember most things about yourself, it's apparent that you have…amnesia." Mom said forlornly as Luana became sad and Wendy ran out of the room crying, with Sven and Linda running after her.

"D-did I make that green haired girl cry?" Luana said as she started to cry herself.

"N-no, you didn't a-and don't cry! We'll do what we can to gain your memories back!" I said worriedly.

After a few minutes of Luana crying, she wiped a few tears from her face while I struggled with choking back a few tears of my own, eventually, I started to sniffle as a few tears came streaming down my face as I gave Sandshrew a hug.

"Y-you guys would help me? Thank you! Doctor Hajime, can the man with his hair styled spiky at the back help me with my memory loss? He's hot!" Luana said while my mom giggled.

"You certainly can Luana, he'll be the one to help you out the most!" Mom said as Luana grinned at me.

"Even when she's lost her memory, she still thinks you're hot. Do what you can to bring her memory back, even partially. Me and everyone else will do what they can too." Marcus said as I wiped a few tears away while everyone else came back inside and sat down.

"Thank you Marcus, it's good to know I have such great friends." I said as Linda sat down to Marcus with a few tears in her eyes, while Sven and Wendy were also sniffling slightly.

"Did I say that too loud? Sorry about that, the guy with the brown hair really is mesmerizing to me, I'd like to know all of your names, especially his!" Luana said as everyone as well as myself chuckled, relieving the tension I had felt.

"Hi there Luana, my name is Wendy and this is Sven, we're happy to meet you!" Wendy said as she and Sven waved as cheerfully as they could to Luana while she did the same.

"Hello, my name's Marcus and this is Linda. It's very nice to meet you!" Marcus said as they shyly waved to Luana, which made her giggle.  
"I'm glad to meet all of you as well! Those names…they seem very familiar, I'll remember them! What's your name, handsome?" Luana said with a small grin.

"M-my name is Kellyn, it's a joy to meet you!" I said.

"Kellyn…I seem to recognize that name. I like your name the most, so I'll definitely remember it!" Luana said.

"Wonderful! Now that introductions are in order, we'll need to speak with Kellyn for a little bit. Don't worry Luana, we'll be back!" Sven said as he, Wendy, Linda and Marcus took me outside.

"Yes guys, what do you need? Luana will be…okay, we'll help her get her memories back, no matter what! You guys d-don't need to…worry a-about me, l-let's focus on L-Luana." I said as I tried my best to stop crying and started choking back some tears.

I eventually broke down and started sobbing, worried about Luana and how she doesn't remember anything besides her name and her occupation. The thought of her losing her memories was something that really disturbed me, I couldn't even imagine how Luana felt. As I continued to cry, I soon felt myself being hugged as I wiped away some of my tears, seeing Sven, Wendy, Marcus and Linda hugging me.

"Kellyn, are you crying because you don't know if Luana will get better soon, or is it because she doesn't remember any of us?" Linda said as I hugged everyone tighter and eventually stopped crying after a while.

"While I was crying because of those two reasons, I was also crying because of how much pain and agony Luana must be in. She must be trying so hard to remember at least one of us and she can't. That's another reason I was so emotional…I will say though, even if it takes me the rest of my life, I'll stand by her side." I said as I stood up and immediately felt myself falling backwards, the stress making me feel exhausted as I collapsed.

I woke up and found myself in Luana's hospital room, I looked around and saw Sven, Wendy and my mother sitting at the back of the room, talking, while Sandshrew was asleep. I turned to my right and saw that Luana was awake, looking at me intently, with a look of concern plastered on her face.

"Hi Kellyn! Your mother and I were talking for a little about how you'll be helping me recover. If you're wondering how you got here, you were brought in about ten minutes ago by Sven and Wendy since Linda and Marcus had to do some Operator work. Wendy and Sven told me that you fainted, is everything alright? Are you badly hurt?" Luana said worriedly.

"Hello Luana, I'm doing much better now, I wasn't feeling so good. How are you doing though, did you get any food to eat yet?" I said as Luana smiled at me, which made my heart race.

"I'm sorry to hear you weren't doing so good, I hope you're doing better now! I didn't get any food to eat since I wasn't feeling hungry, but I could definitely get something to eat! Everyone else apparently had their food while we were fast asleep." Luana said as I sat up and went over to her bedside.

"I certainly am, thanks! You're hungry, huh? So am I! I would love to get you some food if that's okay, do you want anything in particular?" I said.

"You'll be getting me food? Sounds wonderful to me, I'll have whatever you're getting!" Luana said.

"I actually don't feel hungry, I'll get you something before it gets more late!" I said as Luana frowned slightly.

"You should still get some food, Wendy told me that you hadn't eaten any lunch, can you please get some food for yourself too?" Luana said as she smiled and winked at me, causing me to blush while Wendy chuckled.

"S-s-sure Luana, I'll do that!" I said as I smiled back and jogged out of the room, heading over to the cafeteria.

I saw how nice it looked at night time and remembered how Luana would have to come here at night time when I was injured despite how it looked so lonely here. I glanced at the clock on the wall and was surprised to see that it was 1:20 A.M. and realized that we really had been in the Chroma Ruins for a long time.

While I would usually never eat this late, if it made Luana happy, I would do it. I quickly made my way over to where the plates and trays were, picking up two of them as I got four sandwiches which had slices of Oran and Sitrus berries, putting two on each plate while I got some water bottles and headed out of the cafeteria and back to Luana's room. When I headed inside, I saw that my mother and Sven were already asleep while Wendy was talking with Luana, as I walked up to Luana's bedside, seeing the smile on her face made me overjoyed.

"H-hi, I brought you some food, I hope you like it. Please eat as much as you can, you're probably starving like me." I said as Luana took her two sandwiches while I took mine.

Within minutes, we both finished our food at the same time, as Wendy softly giggled which made us both look at her in confusion.

"Sorry! The way you two finished your food at the same time was hilarious, that's just how you two have always ate! You both have such a close bond, which makes sense since you two are partners!" Wendy said happily.

"Well I'm glad that there's someone else I can enjoy food with! Kellyn's a handsome guy and he really knows how to get good food! Also, d-did you say that Kellyn and I are p-partners? That sounds good to me! If Kellyn's my partner, that means the both of us were great Rangers before that rock hit my head, even though I don't remember all of the adventures, some of it is coming back to me slowly. Despite my memory loss…I have to say that talking with all of you makes me feel happy, especially you, Kellyn." Luana said as she started to blush.

"That's right, you and I are partners though you're still a great Ranger no matter what, at least to me. Also…did you just say I'm…handsome?" I said as I got flustered while Luana started to giggle.

"Of course I did, I think you're wonderful, Kellyn!" Luana said.

"T-thank you Luana, that's very sweet of you. I think that you're beautiful." I said as I felt my face getting hot, as Luana blushed, which only made my face start to feel more hot compared to before.

"Aww, you two are so adorable! I'll be heading to bed, but first, I'll take these trays back to the cafeteria!" Wendy said.

"Thank you Wendy, but that's okay, I can do it! We've all worked hard today!" I said.

"I insist, you've been through quite a lot!" Wendy said as she sprinted out of the room and quickly came back a few minutes later.

"Thanks Wendy, I appreciate it! Are you and Sven heading back to your room now?" I said.

"That's right, but we'll be back tomorrow morning. Good night Kellyn, good night Luana!" Wendy said as she shook Sven awake.

"I understand, thanks guys, I appreciate it. Good night!" I said as Sven started to groggily get up.

Both Sven and Wendy waved to us as they headed out of the room, while Luana and I waved back. I quickly went to the bathroom and took off my Ranger uniform and went into my pajamas, doing my business and then leaving. After exiting the bathroom, I saw Luana on her bed and with how happy she looked, I could tell she was ecstatic as I went over to her bedside.

"Those are some great pajamas, they look just like the ones I have!" Luana said as she showed me her adorable Eevee pajamas.

"Thank you, yours look pretty awesome too! You ready to head to bed?" I said as I went near the lights.

"I'm ready to sleep, I'm feeling really exhausted and my head is aching me too. I'll try heading to sleep, good night Kellyn." Luana said as I took off the lights and headed over to my own bed and lied down.

"I'm sorry to hear that, once you get a good night's rest, your headache should be gone. Good night Luana!" I said.

I was wondering how I would be able to get to sleep without Luana holding my hand, back in the Vientown Ranger base, I remember how difficult it was for me to even fall asleep, but when Luana and I started holding hands, I was able to fall asleep very easily. When I started attempting to sleep, I found myself struggling to do so, when I glanced at my Styler, I noticed I had been trying to sleep for the past twenty minutes. I heard some shuffling next to me and saw that Luana was turning around, trying to find a comfortable spot.


	29. Chapter 29: Luana's Amnesia: Part Two

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

Chapter 29: Luana's Amnesia: Part Two

"Luana? You can't sleep either?" I whispered as I moved a little closer.

"Kellyn? You're awake? No, I couldn't get to sleep, I've been in bed for quite a while just trying to find a relaxing position to sleep in. I have an idea though, is…is it okay if I tell you what it is?" Luana said.

"An idea? If it's coming from you, I know it has to be a well thought out one, go ahead!" I said as Luana started to blush.

"I…I was hoping w-we could hold hands and nuzzle together, i-it's just a suggestion s-so you don't have to!" Luana said as she started nervously playing with her thumbs.

I gave her a smile as I got out of my hospital bed and took the bed Sven put together, I quickly gave my mom a kiss on the cheek as I fixed her blanket and headed back to where Luana was and lied down right next to her, intertwining my hand with hers as she shivered slightly.

"I knew your idea was great, I'd love to hold hands with you, hopefully you'll be able to get a good night's sleep now!" I said as I gave Luana a hug, which only made her tremble more.

"S-sorry about the trembling, I just feel so…at ease when I'm around you, even with this amnesia, I feel safe around everyone…but I feel extremely safe and very relaxed around you especially. I know I'll be able to get a good rest with you next to me!" Luana said as she moved her head closer to mine while I did the same.

"No need to be sorry, I'm happy being around you too! It would be great if your memories returned soon, I was telling everyone today how I couldn't even imagine how frustrating it must be to not remember something, but don't you worry Luana, I'll always stay by your side." I said as Luana happily looked at me.

"It really can get a bit frustrating sometimes, especially because it would make me bad if I couldn't remember something about you, my friends, our adventures as Top Rangers or my family. I'm curious though, what if you had to remind me all the time about who I am, or who you are?" Luana said.

"If I had to remind you about either of our names or anything else that you can't remember, then I wouldn't mind because of how much I care. I can definitely see how it could stress someone out, but I love being around you and I would still enjoy spending the rest of my life with you, whether you had amnesia or not, I would gladly do so if it made you happy." I said as Luana gave me a big hug.

"T-that's the sweetest thing I've ever heard, thank you Kellyn. I feel the same about you, even if you had amnesia and couldn't remember anything, I would love to be around you regardless!" Luana said as she hugged me closer to her.

"You're…you're welcome Luana. Let's head to sleep, I'll be right here with you, don't you worry. Good night Luana." I said.

"Sounds like a good idea to me, good night Kellyn." Luana said as we got closer to each other.

Eventually, I felt myself drift off to sleep as I became ecstatic with Luana being close to me. When I woke up in the morning, I noticed that Luana was slowly waking up while my mom's bed was empty, so I quickly rubbed my eyes and tried to move until I realized that Luana had her grip on me.

"Good morning Luana, did you sleep good? I know I did, my headache's all gone and it's breakfast time! If you feel hungry, I can get you something to eat if you'd like!" I said as Luana released her grip on me.

I quickly got off of my bed and headed over to Luana's side, looking into her eyes, even though they were once filled with confusion when she was first diagnosed with amnesia, I had to smile as I noticed that it was replaced with her usual joy as she happily looked up at me.

"Good morning Kellyn, I definitely did have a good rest. I actually do feel really hungry, let's get some food!" Luana said as she tried getting up, though her legs started to wobble as I held her in my arms, worried that she might fall.

"Don't worry Luana, you're not falling when I'm around. Are you okay?" I said.

"T-thanks Kellyn, sorry about that! I think I'll be able to walk now, I'll still keep my arm wrapped around your neck just in case I'm not able to walk as well as I thought. Also, where's your mom? I noticed she wasn't here when I woke up this morning, maybe she had to help some other patients?" Luana said as she put her arm around my neck.

"No need to be sorry Luana, I'm always here for you! As for where my mother could be, I think she could be talking with Chairperson Erma or Sven and Wendy about your condition. I can call Sven or Wendy and see if she's with them." I said as I called Wendy, thankfully, she picked up after a few rings.

"Hi Kellyn, good morning! I hope you and Luana are okay, we're downstairs in our room since we didn't wasn't to disturb you or Luana as you two got close to each other. Chairperson Erma was talking with your mother before she had to leave quickly, some Pokémon were critically injured because of Team Dim Sun attacking the small cave on Nabiki beach. Some Rangers were able to apprehend them, but they knew nothing of any bases according to their knowledge. Aside from that, are you guys heading to the cafeteria to get some breakfast? We're pretty hungry!" Wendy said.

"Hello Wendy, good morning to you as well, Luana and I are doing great, I hope the same goes for Sven and yourself! We were wondering where my mom was, she'll be able to get those Pokémon healed up quickly! I just hope she doesn't stress herself out too much. We'll definitely be getting some breakfast, we'll wait for you guys, see you soon!" I said as I hanged up the Styler while Luana and I both headed into the cafeteria.

"Wow, the sun really makes this room look nice during the day, I can only imagine how pretty this room is at night!" Luana said as she looked at me, her eyes sparkling.

"I agree, when it's especially bright out like today, the cafeteria and some of the other rooms in the Ranger Union feel somewhat relaxing. I hope you don't mind waiting for Sven or Wendy, they're very prompt so even though we won't actually be waiting long, I still feel bad because I know you're hungry." I said.

"I don't mind at all, I'm here with you so even if they took an hour to come here, that's okay with me!" Luana said with a slight blush on her face.

"Thank you Luana, that's very sweet of you to say, it looks like Wendy and Sven are here already, hi guys!" I said as they both entered.

"Hello Kellyn, hi Luana, good morning! Sorry we took so long, let's get some breakfast!" Sven said as Luana and I got up and headed over to Sven and Wendy, collecting our trays and plates as usual.

"You guys didn't take long at all! How are Marcus and Linda doing? They left after I collapsed so they can do some Operator work, are they alright?" I said as I smiled happily.

"Marcus and Linda are doing good, they felt horrible that they weren't able to help you out, Professor Hastings told us the reason they left was because of some training session which required all Operators to attend." Wendy said.

"That's okay, I'm glad they're alright!" I said.

I noticed Luana taking her breakfast which consisted of seven pancakes, two Sitrus berries and a cup of Miltank milk, I also got the same breakfast as we both headed back down to our seats, while Wendy and Sven joined us shortly afterwards, with their breakfast consisting of three pancakes and an Oran berry each as they stared wide eyed at us, specifically at Luana's plate since she still had her appetite.

"Wait a minute…I remember! Every time Sven and Wendy would get breakfast with us, their eyes would always open up wide because they would be so stunned with how much food we ate compared to them!" Luana said as Wendy and Sven's eyes widened even more while I was overjoyed that Luana remembered something and I gave her a big hug as she started her steps to recovery.

"Wow, Luana, that's awesome!" Wendy said.

"If you can remember what happened before the amnesia, that's extremely amazing! Did you remember anything noteworthy when my mother was talking to you as she told you my name?" I said as I waited to Luana's response, while I ate a few pancakes.

"I do! I remember when I went to your house to eat dinner with everyone and I remember talking with your parents and sister and how happy I was to be there after your mom helped me relax." Luana said.

"Luana, since you're able to remember the event once you recollect it…that means you could regain your memory in no time with our help!" I said as we all started to celebrate.

"I'm so glad! I really appreciate how nice you guys have been to me, I thought all of you would have been mad at me not being able to remember any of you!" Luana said as she and I finished our breakfast.

"Oh no worries Luana, we were very concerned when you weren't able to remember anything about yourself or the adventures you've had with us. We wouldn't be mad with you! Did your parents come see you or call so they know you're alright?" Wendy said as Luana started to get fidgety.

"No, my parents haven't visited me at all, I didn't get any calls from them either, even Mrs. Hajime wasn't able to get in touch with them when I told her where they worked. Maybe they just have more important things to do at work and forgot about me. I know my brother would call me when he's able to, but our parents just don't like us." Luana said as I started to comfort her by stroking her hair, which made her relax.

"I'm very sorry Luana, I didn't mean to upset you, I…I'm sorry that your parents are like that towards you. I'm sure that your brother didn't forget about you, you're an awesome person. If your family doesn't at least call you and see how you're doing, especially when you are trying to recover from a head injury, then that's just horrible for them to do." Wendy said as Luana smiled.

-Luana's POV-

"No need to be sorry, my parents have always been like that, though they still mean well. As for my brother, I know work is hectic for him since he travels all over Almia. I'd rather get a call from him than my parents." I said.

"I understand what you mean, it's better to have family call you when you know that they'll be relieved to know you're okay rather than family who couldn't care less. Right?" Kellyn said.

"That's right, you guys understand me so well. On a more positive note, it looks like Sven over here is struggling to finish his pancakes!" I said.

"I-I am not having issues eating these pancakes! It's just that they're so good that I want to take my time enjoying them." Sven said as Wendy playfully rolled her eyes.

"Are you sure you're not just full, Sven? I'm a slow eater and I finished my breakfast before you!" Wendy said as we all laughed while Sven finished his last pancake.

Afterwards, we all put our plates and trays back as we exited the cafeteria, walking down the hallway towards the escalator while Sven started to joke about his eating habits.

"Woohoo! I did it, that's another breakfast eaten by Sven, part of the Flying Ranger duo!" Sven said.

"Fly…Flying Ranger! I remember Wendy calling herself the Flying Ranger while Kellyn and I were heading to the Ranger School! Guys, this is amazing, when I remember things, whether it's something felt or heard, the broken pieces in my mind just reconnect them back and it's like I never lost the memory!" I said as I hugged Kellyn tightly, with there being a noticeable blush on his face.

"T-that's wonderful Luana, I'm so happy you're regaining your memory!" Kellyn said as I giggled, with him lifting me up.

I was enjoying the hug and tried to give Kellyn a hug back until I realized that I couldn't do so, confused, I managed to lift my head from Kellyn's grip as I saw that he somehow managed to hug Sven and Wendy as well as they were on either side of me.

I was surprised, mainly because of how easily Kellyn was able to lift all of us up as if we weighed as much as a sheet of paper. After hugging all of us, Kellyn put us down as he had a blush on his face, while Sven and Wendy were very surprised, evident on their faces.

"That was amazing, though next time you hug me like that, can you please make sure it's just you and me? I think Sven and Wendy's eyebrows are about to reach the ceiling!" I said as Kellyn chuckled.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure next time it's just the two of us." Kellyn said as he winked, which made me blush while Wendy giggled.

"Wendy and I keep forgetting how strong the two of you are, especially you, Kellyn. That was rather impressive, is anyone else in your family strong like you?" Sven said.

"Thanks Sven, no one else in the family is strong like me, but I still love them the same!" Kellyn said as we headed down to the first floor.

"I think that's sweet how you love them whether their strong or not, however, I will say that your strength is awesome! We're taking you to the first floor so you can head to the Pokémon Training Room, where you and Luana's Pokémon are being treated well." Wendy said as we entered the Pokémon Training Room, with what I assumed was our Pokémon eagerly greeting us.

Pachirisu and Buneary started hopping around Kellyn and Raichu was playing with Wendy and Sven while I gave Vulpix a pat on the head. Kellyn glanced at the counter and noticed that no one was there, Kellyn knocked on the counter and after a few seconds, I saw a man with brown hair and brown eyes peek out from the back room as he walked over to the counter.

"Hi Kellyn, if I may ask, do any of you guys have a Sandshrew with you?" Ben said.

"Hello Ben, I was just about to say how strange this was since you or Betty are usually here, I wondered where you guys went. Also, a Sandshrew, er…how did you know that? We do in fact have a Sandshrew in our room upstairs. Why?" Kellyn said.

"Linda saw me earlier and mentioned who the Pokémon belonged to, I figured it belonged to one of you guys. Linda actually passed by the hospital room to see how Luana was doing only a few minutes ago, she didn't see anyone inside, but she noticed a little Sandshrew peacefully resting and she said it was so adorable. Linda will be coming in here in a minute since she would like to have a Pokémon to keep her company if you and Luana are okay with that." Ben said.

"That makes sense, Sandshrew would be a great Pokémon for Linda, let me ask Luana what she thinks." Kellyn said as I motioned for me to come over.

"Hi Kellyn, hello Ben! Do one of you need something?" I said as I waved to Ben while Ben returned the wave.  
"Hello Luana, Ben was explaining to me that Linda saw our Sandshrew in the hospital room and fell in love with it. What do you think, would giving Linda our Sandshrew be a good idea? She would need a Pokémon or a person to keep her company since she tends to get lonely." Kellyn said as I smiled.

"I think that would be a good choice, let me go get Sandshrew, he sounds like he'll love to be around people!" I said as she ran upstairs.

At first I was very confused as to where to go, but after asking the receptionist where our room was, I thanked her and headed up there, finding Sandshrew playing with one of the chairs. I gently picked up Sandshrew and headed out of the room, after I did so, I noticed someone in a green and white uniform walking towards me as she waved to me which prompted me to wave back to her.

"Ah, hello there, are you…Linda? Kellyn and a guy named Ben told me that we should go to the Pokémon Training Room, since you said to Ben that you wanted this Sandshrew. Are you free to go now?" I said.

"Hi Luana! I'm ready to go now, lead the way!" Linda said.

"Sounds good, let's go!" I said as I started jogging, heading back downstairs into the Pokémon Training Room and opened the door.

"You're a fast one Luana! By the way Ben, is Betty back from visiting her family?" Kellyn said right as Betty popped out from the back room.

"Hi Kellyn, it's nice to see you, I had a lot of fun spending time with my family! Are you here to pick up your Pokémon that Sven and Wendy are playing with? We heard Luana got amnesia, we're concerned about her." Betty said.

"Not today, I wanted to pay them a visit as well as see how you guys are doing. I'm relieved that you guys heard about how Luana lost her memory, it breaks my heart whenever anyone explains it to others. We've been trying to help her out but I'm really sad about the entire thing, I should have prevented that rock from hitting her. Even though she's regaining her memories quickly, I feel horrible that she's still struggling to remember things." Kellyn said as I wrapped my arm around his shoulder, as he turned to me, he smiled and he saw that it was me holding Sandshrew while I grinned back at him.

"Aw Kellyn, you're so sweet! You guys are doing a lot to help me out but I know I'll be able to recover from this amnesia, you shouldn't feel horrible or worry! Besides, if that rock hit you, you could have gotten amnesia as well, or worse. In fact, if that rock hit my head higher or lower, who knows what could have happened? All I know is that you're with me and that's what matters to me." I said as I hugged Kellyn while Sandshrew got gently squeezed.

"Wait up Luana! I can barely catch up!" Linda said as she entered the room, panting for breath.

"Oh! I'm so sorry about that Linda, I was so excited to get back that I couldn't help but run down here!" I said.

"Luana's pretty fast, I'm pretty sure she could even out speed Wendy's Staraptor!" Sven said as we all chuckled.

"Luana might be fast, but my Staraptor is definitely faster! However…if Kellyn was in danger, Luana would probably out speed any Pokémon so that she can get him to safety." Wendy said.

"I don't think I could out speed any Pokémon, but I do agree that if Kellyn was in danger, I would do whatever it takes to make sure he's okay." I said as I handed over Sandshrew to Linda.

"Sandshrew, Linda needs a reliable and friendly Pokémon since she's by herself most days whenever Marcus or Murph isn't around. Can you make sure to keep her company when she's alone?" Kellyn said as Sandshrew looked over at Linda for a moment, before happily jumping into her arms as we all cheered.

"Thank you Sandshrew, I'll make sure to give you lots of love! Thank you Luana and Kellyn! I'll take great care of Sandshrew, is there anything in particular that you guys need from me? I know that Sven and Wendy are going to take me somewhere today, hopefully it's another adventure but without Team Dim Sun involved!" Linda said happily as she held Sandshrew in her arms.

"No worries Linda, we know you'll take good care of Sandshrew! There's nothing else that we need from you, but we hope that you guys all have fun wherever you guys are going today! Are you guys heading out now, or later?" Kellyn said.

"We'll be heading out now, we've got some quests to do and we'll be taking Linda to a secret spot where she can relax and enjoy herself! If you guys need anything, don't hesitate to call us! Bye!" Sven said as they waved to us while we did the same.

After Sven, Wendy and Linda left, I figured I would try to do something to jog my memory back, Kellyn decided to show me our Pokémon to see if I remembered anything in particular about them while Ben and Betty observed closely.

"Luana, this is Pachirisu, Buneary, Vulpix and Raichu, they're our Partner Pokémon! If you can, try to remember where we first got them." Kellyn said sweetly as I looked at each Pokémon, while they worriedly stared at me.

I picked up Pachirisu and Buneary with a concentrated look on my face and after looking intently at our Partner Pokémon for about a minute or so, I smiled happily as I squeezed the two Pokémon and gently put them down.

"I…I remember! They were given to us by Barlow and we caught Pachirisu and Buneary inside the Ranger Base. I was so overjoyed catching them and they started hopping up and down!" I said as I then picked up Raichu and Vulpix.

"Wonderful job Luana, since you know where we got Pachirisu and Buneary, do you also know where we got Raichu and Vulpix?" Kellyn said as I started to observe the other two Pokémon, after a few minutes of looking at the two, my head felt like it nearly hit the ceiling as I gave Kellyn a big hug.

"I remember where we got these two Pokémon as well! It was in Almia Castle, Vulpix needed a Sitrus berry from an injury it got, while Raichu was by a staircase wandering around!" I said as we all cheered.

"That's right! Luana, you were able to remember how we met our Pokémon! I'm so happy for you!" Kellyn said as he hugged me while our Pokémon jumped for joy.

"Yay Luana! With Kellyn's help, you'll be able to remember things easily!" Ben said.

"Soon it'll be like you've never lost your memory!" Betty said.

"Thanks guys, I'm glad I have Kellyn and my friends by my side for support. We'll be heading out now, bye Ben, bye Betty! Bye guys, make sure to not give Ben or Betty too much work!" I said with a chuckle as I hugged each of our Partner Pokémon while Kellyn patted them on the head.

"Get some rest guys, you all work hard. Bye Ben, bye Betty it was nice to see all of you!" Kellyn said as we waved and left the Pokémon Training Room.

"That was fun, seeing those adorable Pokémon made me happy and Ben and Betty are nice just like I remember them. Where are we going to go next?" I said as Kellyn grew fidgety.

"W-where to go next? Well..I.." Kellyn said as he increasingly looked anxious.

"What's wrong Kellyn? Is something bothering you?" I said.

"W-well, I was hoping we could go to this room here, before you got the amnesia, you and I…shared it together. But i-if you don't want to go in t-then that's alright!" Kellyn said nervously.

"Ah, so that's what you were wondering about! Kellyn, sharing a room with you sounds like fun, I'll definitely be more than happy to go there with you!" I said as Kellyn gently grabbed my hand and started walking towards the room, with Kellyn opening the door and both of us entering.

_'__Aw Kellyn, even when I've lost my memory, you're just as loving and dependable as ever, that's why I'll always love you.'_ I thought to myself as I flicked on the light switch.

My eyes lit up when I saw our room and I immediately went over to the dresser, I was thinking rather intently as I giggled slightly.

"What did you remember about the dresser?" Kellyn said as I turned to face him.

"We bought this the other day at that marketplace, I specifically remember how much I loved the Mudkip and Eevee on front. I thought it was such an adorable dresser! I'm surprised by how quickly I'm remembering things, but it makes me happy that you're the one helping me." I said as I gave Kellyn a hug.

"I'm so glad you're remembering things! Luana, I actually have a present for you since you've been doing so great, close your eyes please." Kellyn said as I did so.

"This…this seems familiar…" I said as I felt Kellyn gave me a kiss on the lips, I then kissed him back, as I put my arms around him while Kellyn did the same.

"Kellyn…I remember everything that happened before the amnesia, all the times we got injured and nearly died, all the people we met and everywhere we've been. It's…it's like I never even had amnesia to begin with and it's all thanks to you!" I said as Kellyn hugged me, picking me up as he twirled me around the room, eventually putting me down after a few minutes of his adorable laughing.

"I figured that if you're able to remember things based on something someone says or even something you feel, such as when you held our Pokémon, perhaps kissing you on your lips would work. I'm so glad that it did, you're back Luana! Do you want to tell everyone, or do you want to keep it as a surprise?" Kellyn said.

"I'm so happy I'm able to remember everything, your kisses are really wonderful! As for telling anyone about my recovery, I think we could tell Chairperson Erma, after all, we do need to replace your jacket since the blood stained it. Let's hold off on Sven, Wendy or Linda knowing since we would want Linda to spend some time with them, you know? We can tell them once we head back here tonight, plus we can play a prank on them!" I said as I smiled sweetly at Kellyn.


	30. Chapter 30: Vientown, rain and Murph

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!**

**A/N: This is another filler chapter of sorts, given its length.**

Chapter 30: Vientown, rain and Murph

-Kellyn's POV-

"You know, whenever I see you, it just makes my heart melt, whether you have amnesia or not. We can tell them later then, it'll be fun to prank them! Let's go ahead and talk with Chairperson Erma!" I said as I started to head upstairs, though Luana gently held me back.

"We're still in our pajamas, let's go ahead and wear our uniforms!" Luana said as we entered our room and promptly changed into our Ranger uniforms.

"Wow, you look great in your uniform!" I said as I hugged Luana.

"Thank you, you look good in yours too, even without your jacket, it just means I can get closer to you." Luana said as I blushed, we both walked upstairs and headed to the third floor where Chairperson Erma was, though Marcus was nowhere to be seen.

"Hi Chairperson Erma, how are you?" I said as Chairperson Erma turned around from checking the monitors, looking very shocked as she saw Luana.

"L-Luana?! How are you feeling dearie? I'm so sorry I wasn't able to visit you when you were recovering!" Chairperson Erma said as Luana smiled.

"Don't worry Chairperson Erma, thanks to the help of everyone, especially Kellyn, my amnesia is actually gone! No need to feel bad about not visiting, you're the Chairperson, there's a lot of things you have to do to make sure the Ranger Union is continuously working! We actually came here because the wound has completely healed, meaning I can get right back to work, plus Kellyn needs a new jacket, his got covered with blood from when I first got the injury." Luana said.

"That's correct, I actually didn't see the jacket in the room, maybe my mom took it and disposed of it?" I said.

"Ah that's right, your mother did come by before she had to go since I was about to head out on my walk, she threw the jacket away and also insisted on paying for any medical fees for you or Luana though once I told her that Top Rangers didn't have to pay for their medical care, she was elated. Also, I have your new jacket here, it looks just like your old one, here you go dearie." Chairperson Erma said as she handed me another jacket as I quickly put it on.

"Thank you very much Chairperson Erma, are there any tasks in particular that you would like us to do today? Luana and I were thinking of relaxing for a bit, maybe enjoying the beautiful flowers and then head to my house to see how my family is." I said as Chairperson Erma smiled.

"There isn't anything around the Ranger Union that needs to be done, though I did hear how the outstanding Top Rangers wanted to find Team Dim Sun's bases! I say that even though you four are your own bosses as individuals and Top Rangers, I would still recommend that the four of you not stress yourselves out and allow the other Rangers to try and do some clandestine operations on Team Dim Sun. I'm fairly certain that they know what the four of you look like, especially you and Luana, meaning any attempts of disguising yourselves might prove to be dangerous and Team Dim Sun's admins are some especially dangerous individuals as you two already know. The both of you are free to do anything today." Chairperson Erma said with a smile as Luana and I looked at each other.

"We understand Chairperson Erma, if you do decide that the other Rangers might need our assistance with locating Team Dim Sun's bases, please let us know and we'll be happy to help! We'll be headed outside if there's nothing else, bye Chairperson Erma!" I said as we both waved to the Chairperson Erma while she did the same.

"That's understandable, I hope the two of you enjoy yourselves! Bye Kellyn, bye Luana!" Chairperson Erma said as Luana and I raced down the steps and headed out the front door.

"Since you're all better, that means we can both enjoy spending time with each other again! Where do you want to go? I know I said we're going to relax but I want to know where you'd like to go." I said as Luana contemplated where to as her eyes lit up shortly afterwards.

"I think you and I can go anywhere we'd like. If you would like to, we can head to Pueltown first and look at the beautiful scenery. Would you like to do that?" Luana said as she locked arms with me.

"I would love to, let's go!" I said as we both jogged over to Pueltown, reaching there within minutes.

As we entered Pueltown, I saw that it was more bustling than usual, as people were walking around buying items at the marketplace. At first, we were a bit confused about why the town was so much more lively than it was previously, though when we continued walking around, we saw that the section of town that was under construction was finished, with a wide variety of stores, such as bookstores, a few supermarkets and some cafes.

"Wow Kellyn, this place looks great! There's a lot of activity in Pueltown, this is going to be good for their economy but I wonder if there's anyone from Team Dim Sun here." Luana said.

"I know, they love showing up in their uniforms just to scare people or to act ridiculous. If they try anything, we'll be here to stop them!" I said.

"That's right, we can! If you're by my side, I'm capable of so much more. I love you, Kellyn." Luana said as she gave me a hug.

"I love you too Luana! I feel the same way, especially once I'm with you. Let's explore some of the new area, if there's any suspicious people around, we'll keep a close eye on them!" I said as Luana and I headed to the new section of town.

As we walked around the new area, we observed all the new stores that opened up. While there were only a few new stores open, people were eager enough to see the new stores that every store had much more people than normal.

After walking around for around a half hour, we went back to the main part of Pueltown and decided to head to the Vien Forest, I took a glance at Altru Tower as we started entering the Vien Forest and couldn't help but tremble upon seeing it. Since Luana and I were holding hands, she turned to look at me when I trembled, as her face full of concern.

"Kellyn? What's wrong? Did you see Altru Tower?" Luana said as we started jogging into the Vien Forest.

"That's…that's right, something about that tower is off. Every time I look at Altru Tower, I can't help but feel dread. It bothers me a lot, I feel an ominous feeling even when we're in the lobby." I said.

"I also feel the same way and I don't like it either. The workers appear to be friendly enough, but remember when we met the President and Wheeler? Those two creeped us out, I could tell in your voice that you didn't want to be anywhere near them and I don't blame you." Luana said.

"Hahah, yeah, the two of them were really making me feel like panicking. If you weren't there, I would have collapsed. How do the workers not see that their boss is a bit…er…menacing?" I said as we made our way through Vien Forest in a matter of minutes and reached Vientown.

"I know, it's strange, their boss sure seems nice but we could tell that he was only friendly because we were there. Since we're in Vientown now, what do you want to do? We don't have any quests here, but we could see how everyone at the Ranger base is doing if you'd like!" Luana said.

"That's a great idea, after we drop in, we can head over to Chicole Village if you'd like!" I said.

"I'd love to, your mom will be happy to hear that I recovered thanks to you, though I'm fairly certain Chairperson Erma already told her!" Luana said as we headed in.

Upon entering, we noticed that there wasn't anyone in the Ranger base lobby and as I glanced at my Styler, I saw that it wasn't even 2 P.M., however, there was no one to be seen. Figuring that perhaps at least Crawford or Barlow were out helping citizens, we entered the sleeping quarters and were surprised to find no one was there either.

"Luana? What's going on here? I could expect to see Crawford here still asleep, or perhaps Elaine, but…nobody is here at all. Where could they be? Do you think something happened to them?" I whispered.

"I'm not sure, let's look around for them, something feels very out of place and I don't like it at all." Luana said in a hushed tone as we checked around the sleeping quarters and weren't able to find anyone.

"Luana, do you think maybe they're in the kitchen area? We haven't checked there yet." I said as we opened the door, expecting to find someone, but ultimately found nothing just like the sleeping quarters. As we headed back to the main area, I tried to think of what could have happened to everyone.

_'__It could be possible that everyone was abducted in the middle of the night by a group of Team Dim Sun members who had Pokémon with Sleep Powder, but if that were the case, then it could also be possible that they're being held hostage right now. At the same time, I'm fairly certain at least one of them would have gotten away, Ollie's kind of fast.' _I thought to myself.

"Kellyn, are you thinking that they were abducted? I certainly do! What if some Team Dim Sun grunts used Thunder Wave on them so they couldn't move or speak and then used the cover of darkness to take them away?" Luana said as I put my hands on her shoulders, not completely surprised that Luana and I had similar thoughts.

"Luana, I was thinking of something similar, except I was assumed that the Team Dim Sun grunts used Sleep Powder on them so they stay asleep while carrying them away." I said.

"They should be okay Kellyn, we shouldn't be so stressed! Considering Ollie and Elaine, they're probably at Nabiki beach, while Crawford is enjoying Vien Forest. Barlow and Jen are probably at Little Tim's farm eating milk pudding right now." Luana said as I chuckled.

"That sounds about right, let's go look for Barlow first!" I said as we started heading for the door.

Right as we were about to leave, the door opened as we saw Barlow, Jen and Elaine with very confused looks on their faces.

"Hi guys, we decided to pay you a visit since we wanted to see how all of you are doing! How have you been?" I said as everyone entered the Ranger base.

"Hello Kellyn, hi Luana, we've been doing good! We're happy to see you but…how did you two get in? We locked the door before we left to get some food." Barlow said as we all sat down.

"Really? The front door was unlocked, that's how we got inside! I thought the Ranger base was supposed to have someone inside at all times, when we entered, no one was there. We thought someone kidnapped all of you, we were just about to head out and start searching for you guys!" Luana said as Jen giggled.

"We were really worried, we're so happy you guys are okay!" I said.

"Thank you for your concern, it's always quiet here so there's no need to worry about someone abducting us!" Jen said.

"That's right, you guys are too kind! Luana, we heard about you getting amnesia and were very concerned. We were about to head to the Ranger Union today and see the extent of your injuries when someone requested Crawford to head to the Ranger School as someone wanted an interview with him. We're very sorry we couldn't be there for you." Elaine said.

"Thanks guys, there's no need to be sorry. The fact that you guys are concerned is what I appreciate the most! So Crawford got an interview from an upcoming Ranger? Sounds great, hopefully Crawford doesn't crack too many jokes!" Luana said cheerfully.

"Knowing Crawford, he's probably making the whole school laugh! Since we know that Crawford is at the Ranger School, does that mean Ollie's there talking to upcoming Mechanics about the different things needed on the job?" I said.

"That's right, Ollie and Crawford are going to be there for the rest of the day, hopefully they don't cause too much trouble! Are you guys staying for a while?" Elaine said as Jen went to the kitchen in order to help Barlow out with the food.

"We're planning to stay for a few minutes, we wanted to see how you guys were doing and how Vientown was!" Luana said.

"Aw, thanks guys! We're always happy to see the both of you! Nothing much has happened in Vientown at all, it's been very quiet here. What's new with you guys?" Elaine said.

"Really? Sometimes having some peace and quiet is good, it's been rather quiet at the Ranger Union as well, but we've been doing a couple of quests and helping out citizens as best as we can. As you already heard, I got amnesia the other day and if it wasn't for everyone's help, mainly Kellyn's, I'm fairly certain that being a Ranger would be more difficult for me, it was difficult at first since I couldn't remember anything but my name and the fact that I was a Ranger, yet oddly enough, I could regain a specific memory on something I feel or touch. Kellyn, would you like to explain? After all, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't remember as quickly as I did." Luana said.

"I'd be happy to! Luana's amnesia was very strange when considering how she could recollect something, for instance, if she held her Buneary, she would remember where she captured it whereas before she struggled to recall anything about it previously. I'm just happy that Luana recovered and is doing better so quickly." I said as I gave Luana a hug.

"That's right, we were both extremely surprised by how easily I could remember things but I'm happy that I didn't need to take any sort of medication or have to stay in bed for weeks at a time. If that happened then I'd just be a burden to Kellyn!" Luana said.

"Luana, you're not a burden, I would happily make sure that you get treated until you make a full recovery, I don't care how long it takes." I said as Luana started to blush.

"You two are so adorable! I remember when Kellyn first came into the Ranger Union and both of your eyes met, you and Luana were enamored by each other! Make sure to invite all of us to your wedding!" Elaine said.

"We'll definitely invite you guys! Speaking of which, where's Jen and Barlow? I know they went into the kitchen with the food they brought but we've only been here for fifteen minutes, maybe they're making an early lunch?" Luana said.

"I don't know, when we were here, we would all start making lunch a bit after 3 P.M., no later than that. We could check up on them, how's that sound?" I said.

"Good idea, I'll go in first!" Elaine said as we all entered the sleeping quarters, finding Jen fast asleep.

"At least we know where Jen is, let's go to the kitchen since Barlow could be there." Luana said as we went inside the kitchen and found Barlow making himself a sandwich with his back turned to us.

"Hi Barlow! What sort of sandwich do you have there?" I said as Barlow quickly turned around with a slice of cheese on his face which he took off, making all of us giggle.

"Hello everyone, sorry about that, I was really hungry so I decided to make myself some food. Jen was tired from all the walking that she and Elaine did and fell asleep right away." Barlow said as he finished his sandwich.

"Don't apologize, we thought you and Jen were talking or smooching in here and figured that would see if you two were okay!" Luana said as Barlow blushed.

"R-really funny Luana, you and Kellyn are hilarious! Crawford might have some competition!" Barlow said with a smile.

"Don't worry Barlow, you know that we're just joking with you! You want to head to the main area? It's kind of cramped with four of us and your sandwich in here!" I said.

"That's true, it'll be easier to talk there as well since I wouldn't want to wake Jen up." Barlow said as we all went to the front of the Ranger base.

"Much better! We were just talking with Elaine about my amnesia and how quickly I was able to regain all of my memories." Luana said.

"Really?! That's amazing! We heard how bad it was but didn't hear about your recovery, we're so relieved that you're doing better!" Barlow said as he finished his small sandwich.

"Thanks! It would have been a very painful and tough process if it wasn't for Kellyn to help the entire way, as well as the support of everyone else." Luana said.

"Oooh, that's touching! I'm glad that Kellyn was able to help you. What are you guys going to be doing after you two leave here?" Barlow said.

"Maybe they'll be going to Nabiki beach afterwards, or maybe a café for some lunch together!" Elaine said.

"Nabiki beach? Great idea, what do you think, Luana?" I said as Luana grinned happily.

"That sounds romantic to me! How about we head there after we go to Chicole Village?" Luana said.

"I'd like that. After we leave Chicole Village, we'll go over to Nabiki beach! It looks especially beautiful when the sun is setting, it gives the entire area a warm glow." I said.

"I hope you two have a good time when you guys go there, Nabiki beach is always nice! Are you two going to head to Chicole Village now?" Barlow said.

"Thanks Barlow, we will. We are going to go to Chicole Village now but we'll be back before it gets dark since we know you guys head to sleep early. We'll be seeing you guys later!" I said.

"Sounds good, have fun you two! We'll be awake until 11 P.M. so take all the time you need!" Elaine said as we waved and headed outside.

We started to jog towards Chicole Village as we noticed how dark it got, with a gigantic storm cloud looming overhead, in a matter of minutes, Luana and I made our way to the entrance of Chicole Village when we saw a flash of lightning.

"Uh oh, Kellyn, let's hurry before it starts raining!" Luana said as we both ran to my house and knocked on the door.

"Mom, Dad, Rina, are any of you home? It's Kellyn! I'm here with Luana, can you please open the door? It's going to start raining and I don't want us to get drenched!" I said as the door quickly opened and Luana and I went inside.

"Don't worry son, you and Luana aren't going to get sick, I'm glad you two are here! I heard it was really going to start pouring today!" Mom said as she rubbed her eyes.

"Thanks mom, looks like we arrived just in time! Luana and I wanted to see how everyone is doing, sorry for just coming without letting you know." I said.

"No need to be sorry son, the both of you are always welcome here! I'm very sorry that I had to leave you two at the Ranger Union so suddenly, there was a lot of paperwork I had to do since there were some people who got injured carrying some cargo at the Pueltown docks and then some Pokémon were very badly hurt because of Team Dim Sun attacking a small cave on Nabiki beach. I'm very surprised, Luana's here in her uniform yet…she doesn't appear at all confused as to why she's here. Luana…you know who I am…don't you?" Mom said as all of us sat down on chairs.

"Haha, I certainly do! You're Mrs. Hajime, Kellyn's mother! It's thanks to Kellyn and everyone else that I regained my memory, though if it wasn't for Kellyn's kiss, I wouldn't have recovered as quickly as I did!" Luana said as my mother gave both of us a hug and after a short while, she pulled back with a few tears in her eyes which she quickly wiped away.

"I'm so glad that you and Kellyn always have each other's backs, something like that is important in a relationship and you two will be capable of many things." Mom said as she sat down on the chair while I glanced around, wondering where everyone else was.

"Thanks mom, it's always nice being around Luana, she's a great person to talk to and she's very compassionate. Also, where's Dad and Rina? Are they at the clinic or something?" I said as I soon heard rain pouring.

"Rina is actually taking a nap, just like you, she studies hard, especially since she's going to take the entrance exam to become an Operator and be accepted into the Ranger School next year, your father is at the clinic helping out some injured Pokémon." Mom said.

Soon afterwards, we heard a loud boom of thunder which made Luana tremble as she held on to me tightly. The lights in the house flickered and then went out, leaving us in the dark. Even though it was only 2:30 P.M., it certainly felt a bit scary when considering how dark the sky was before the power went out. Mom quickly went to a small closet and took out a candle, putting it on the table and making sure it was lit as the rain continued to pour. Eventually, we heard a shriek as Rina came downstairs with a few blankets over her head.

"T-this is scary…I don't mind rain and lightning, but thunder is what always scared me as a child and I remember hiding under my blanket often." Luana said as she held me tighter while Rina also started to shiver.

"I-I-I'm the same way, it's n-nice to see you, Kellyn and Luana. I hope you two a-are planning to relax for a bit even after the rain stops." Rina said as another clap of thunder boomed throughout the whole area, which made Rina ran over to the chair and sit down with us.

"Nice to see you too little sis, hopefully this rain stops soon. Since we'll be here for a while, are there any questions you'd like to ask Luana?" I said.

"Yes, just one, don't worry! I'm curious, how did the amnesia impact you and friends? You don't have to answer if you don't want to, sorry if I upset you. I can't even imagine how tough it must have been to not be able to recognize your friends. You look like you pulled through and very quickly as well!" Rina said.

"I would say that the amnesia made my friends even more determined than ever to help me regain my memories. Even though they did a great job, I could tell that they were sad about me, especially since I wasn't able to remember who they were or what adventures I went on with any of them. At first, I was absolutely panicking until Kellyn started helping me out by showing me different things to jog my memory." Luana said.

"I tried the best that I could to help Luana such as having her hold our Partner Pokémon and touch a dresser that we owned. In both instances, she regained her memory almost instantaneously, but the best part was that after I kissed her, she remembered every adventure she's been on!" I said as Luana smiled while Rina and mom cheered.

"That's correct, Chairperson Erma was so shocked at first considering how quickly I recovered, but she was very happy. I can't thank Kellyn enough for being by my side, he's so wonderful by helping me not just with my amnesia, but also with how he's saved me from getting seriously injured or killed." Luana said.

"It's no problem at all, Luana! Partners like us stick together, you know that I'll always stand by your side." I said as Luana blushed.

The rain continued to pour and every once in a while, we heard thunder with one boom of thunder being particularly loud, which made us all jump.

"That's very touching, I love how compatible you two are, you're just like mom and dad!" Rina said as we chuckled, though another loud boom once again made us jump.

"I agree, Kellyn and Luana really are as close as your father and myself, it really is adorable. Speaking of your father, I was going to call him and see how he's doing at the clinic but I can't even do that until the electricity comes back on. I really don't like this rain." Mom said.

"Rina, is it okay if I borrow one of those blankets? I'm getting a little scared." Luana said.

"Of course you can have one, Luana! Mom, can we head over to the living room? It won't be as noisy there." Rina said as she handed Luana a blanket, which Luana quickly put over both of us.

"That's a good idea, we have a couple of couches there, hopefully this storm can subside soon." Mom said as she opened the door to the living room, with Luana and I taking our socks and shoes off and putting them next to Rina and mom's shoes on the rug by the front door.

We all headed over to the two couches, with one of them having a small corner section which Rina sat down in, covering herself with her blankets. There was also a small TV and a bookshelf filled with Pokémon ailments and treatments.

Luana and I sat down in the couch that didn't have the corner section, while mom sat down near Rina. As the rain continued to pour, Luana moved close to me, though once some thunder started to roar, she moved even closer as she started to tremble slightly.

"S-s-so scary, while it might be quieter in here, that thunder is as loud as ever. Do you think Mr. Hajime is alright?" Luana said as I cuddled her, which made her relax considerably.

"I think my dad is doing good at the clinic, let me try calling him since it'll be easier to hear him in here compared to the kitchen." I said as I tried getting a hold of dad, the Styler rang about five times or so before I heard someone pick up.

"Hello Dad, are you okay? Is it raining heavily by you? Luana and I are at home with mom and Rina, are you headed home soon?" I said as I waited for dad to answer.

"Hi Kellyn, I'm doing alright, I just left work and I'm already on a Staraptor to get there fast. It wasn't raining by the clinic but I'll be home quickly anyways. See you soon son!" Dad said.

"Be careful, it's a horrible storm. Bye dad!" I said as I hanged up the Styler.

"It's a good thing dad is coming home soon, this storm has been going on for the past five minutes or so!" Rina said as we all heard the front door open, with dad entering the living room shortly afterwards.

"Hi guys, I'm home! That really is a horrible storm out there, but I made it here safely!" Dad said as mom gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Welcome home honey, since we're going to be here a while, perhaps Kellyn and Luana can share some stories." Mom said.

"That sounds like fun, let me go change off real quick then!" Dad said as he ran upstairs and quickly came back down.

"Wow, you were faster than that Staraptor that brought you home!" I said.

"Well, now you all know where Kellyn gets his speed from!" Dad said with a chuckle as he sat down next to mom.

"Oh really? I'm rather fast myself, Kellyn's just naturally fast! So, do you two have any exciting or romantic stories to tell us?" Mom said as she leaned in closer.

"S-stories? Well…how about I tell the story of how we met each other?" I said as my family leaned forward which made Luana giggle.

"Hahah, Kellyn, it looks like your family is really interested! Go ahead and tell them!" Luana said.

"Good, I'm glad that they're so eager to know! It all started the very first day I was recruited by the Vientown Ranger base a few days after graduating from the Ranger School with top honors. As I entered the Ranger base and met everyone, the last person I met was Luana, she had an expression on her face that I can best describe as her being dazed. After I shook everyone's hands, Luana did the same and she was so happy when our hands made contact. When I first saw her, I couldn't help but feel absolute joy, but when I found out that Luana was going to be my partner, I was elated. I'm very happy that Luana is my partner, she's awesome." I said as my family cheered while Luana got closer to me.

"That was a wonderful story, it's similar to how your father and I first met." Mom said.

"Oooh, can I hear that story? Ours was interesting and very sweet but I'm curious as to how you two got to know each other!" Luana said joyfully as my father leaned forward to share how they first met.

"I would say that it all started when I first started going to medical school. It was tough for me to decide if I wanted to become a doctor for Pokémon and people, or simply just one of the two. After deciding that being a doctor for both of them would be the best idea, I started taking some of the classes required. My very first class had this lovely lady with brown hair and amazing hazel eyes, as you can all imagine, this was my wife, since the seat next to her was empty, I sat down next to her. When I introduced myself to her, we both immediately fell in love, just like how the both of you fell in love with each other. After we helped one another out with some of our classwork, we eventually started dating. Only a year after we started dating did I decide to propose to her, I decided the best way to do so was by giving her a rose made out of metal that shined from white to a rainbow shine once it was in the sun, she absolutely loved it. After we got married, we had Kellyn as our firstborn and Rina a year afterwards, it's hard to believe that we're in our early forties and that Kellyn is twenty-two now, but that's how we first met! It looks like it stopped raining too, I was worried we would have to cover the door to stop water from coming in." Dad exclaimed.

"I love hearing that story, Mom always told me how awestruck she was when she first saw Dad." Rina said.

"What a wonderful story, thanks for sharing it! The fact that you two have been together for so long is touching. I think it's sweet that you gave Mrs. Hajime a rose, it's just like the one Kellyn gave me in Pueltown." Luana said as she blushed slightly.

"I agree, the compassion that my parents have for each other is amazing and you can definitely tell that they both care about each other. That rose that my father gave is something that my parents both cherish to this day since it's very important to them, the same goes for the rose that I gave you, thanks to the help from both my parents." I said as my parents grinned.

"That's right, compassion and understanding is always important to have, just like how the both of you have compassion and understanding for each other. Since the rain has stopped, are you two heading out now? It's only 3 P.M. so you two can eat some food before you leave!" Mom said as we all headed back to the kitchen and sat down on the chairs.

"Sure, we'll have some food, what's for lunch?" I said.

"Lunch is going to be vegetable soup with bread, I just finished baking everything about an hour ago, so it's nice and hot too!" Mom said as Dad took some bowls out.

We all took some soup along with a little bit of bread and then sat back down to eat. After we all finished eating, I got a call on my Styler from Wendy which I answered after excusing myself from the table so I wouldn't be rude.

"Hello Wendy, how are you guys? Are you helping Linda relax?" I said.

"Hi Kellyn, we're all doing great, we just took Linda to the Vien Forest so she can observe all the beautiful nature and friendly Pokémon with her Sandshrew. We headed back to the Ranger Union a few minutes ago, just in time too, it's raining horribly now. How are you guys doing?" Wendy said.

"Glad to hear that Linda is relaxing a bit, we just finished having dinner at my parent's house, it was raining a lot here about ten minutes or so ago. Luana and I are going to do some quests before heading back to the Ranger Union." I said.

"Oooh, sounds like you and Luana are having some fun! Good luck on helping out some citizens, we're going to stay out of the rain until it eventually stops. Bye Kellyn, say hello to your family for me!" Wendy said.

"Don't worry, we're just going to do any quests that are available in the area. I'll tell everyone that you said hello. Bye for now!" I said as I hanged up the Styler and walked over to Luana, who was talking with my mom.

"Hi Kellyn, you're finished talking with Wendy? That was quick! How is everyone?" Luana said.

"Hi Luana, everyone's doing good, they're at the Ranger Union now after they went to Vien Forest to relax. Also, Wendy, Sven and Linda said hello." I said.

"That's wonderful! I'm glad Linda's enjoying herself, she's usually very timid." Luana said.

"I know, I'm glad she's able to relax. Would you like to head to Nabiki beach, do some quests and then head back to the Ranger Union since it's still early?" I said.

"That'll be perfect, we can go now since we may have work to do tomorrow!" Luana said as she stood up.

"Aww, you guys are leaving already? That's okay, it was nice to see you and Luana, have fun at Nabiki beach!" Mom said.

"Don't worry sweetheart, Kellyn and Luana might be leaving but they'll always visit us. Besides, once they're with each other, the two of them are always going to have fun no matter what." Dad said.

"Yeah mom, they're perfect for each other, they're both great Top Rangers as well. Besides, they're going to Nabiki beach to make out, there's no need to worry!" Rina exclaimed as we both blushed slightly.

"Thanks everyone, we'll be careful like always. We'll be heading out now, bye!" I said as we waved to my family and headed out the door.

Luana and I walked towards Nabiki Beach in a matter of minutes and as we made our way to the soft sand, we sat down together, holding hands the whole time.

"It's funny how I was so nervous of your family the first time, yet now I'm so relaxed around them. They're very kind and that's something I can really respect and appreciate." Luana said.

"I know what you mean, I really love my family. While you may have been nervous meeting my family, I was very shy being around you, especially with how gorgeous you are." I said as Luana blushed.

"I could tell, especially because of how shy I was. Even though I was flustered around you at first, I still felt safe with you. The same goes for now, I love being around you! I'm so glad to be with you, Kellyn." Luana said as she went from holding my hand to wrapping her arm around me, cuddling close to me with her head on my shoulder.

"Thank you Luana, those were some touching words. I love being around you too, Luana! You're easy to talk to, to laugh with and you're such a joy to be around. Having you with me as a Ranger partner and a girlfriend makes me elated! I love you, Luana." I said as I gave Luana a brief kiss on the lips.

"That was a great kiss and those were some sweet words as well! I love you too Kellyn, you're an amazing Ranger as well and an even better boyfriend." Luana said as she gave a kiss on the lips.

Luana and I sat there for a while, enjoying the Wingull and Pelipper flying while the breeze gently blew our hair. After what felt like a few minutes, Luana and I both got up simultaneously. I checked my Styler and noticed that it was only 3:30 P.M., so we quickly jogged out of Nabiki beach and headed to the entrance of Vien Forest.

"That was fun, I love being so close to you! Let me go ahead and check my Styler to see what quests we have to do and who needs our help!" Luana said as she checked her Styler.

As Luana was scrolling through the quests we did and was looking for any others we had to do, I decided to tickle her, wondering if she was even ticklish at all. She tried to hold in her laughter but she eventually started to laugh after only a few seconds as she tried to playfully struggle with me, with her Styler dropping on the sand.

"Hahah, w-wait! K-Kellyn, h-h-how did you know I was so t-ticklish?!" Luana exclaimed as she continued to laugh, though I eventually stopped tickling her after a short while as she was able to breathe normally again.

"I had no idea! I just figured tickling you would make you laugh a little bit, but you were really enjoying yourself!" I said as Luana smiled and picked up her Fine Styler, brushing off the little bit of sand that was on the bottom.

"Of course I was enjoying myself, I'm with you! I don't think I've ever laughed so hard before! Now let me try seeing what quests we have to do, hopefully you don't try tickling me again!" Luana said as she blushed and went back to checking her Styler.

"I won't! I'll help you look for any new quests just in case they were recently submitted." I said as I started looking through my Fine Styler.

However, I was quickly interrupted as I felt myself getting tickled, just like what happened with Luana, my Styler fell out of my grasp as I started to laugh, with Luana tickling me ferociously while she started to laugh, her joy making my heart race. After being tickled nonstop for what felt like an hour, Luana eventually stopped tickling me as I laid on the ground trying to compose myself.

"Hahah, you've never laughed that hard, you looked really happy too. I already saw the quest we have to do, it's only one at the moment. It involves us heading to Pueltown to help out…Murph! It says he'll give us more information once we get there, are you ready?" Luana said as I stood up and held my hand out to her since she was still sitting down.

"Since I'll be with you, I'm ready for anything! Let's go when you're ready, Murph needs our help!" I said as Luana took my hand and I pulled her up, brushing any sand that was on us.

We both jogged to the Vientown Ranger base and decided to see if Ollie and Crawford were back yet, as we entered, we saw Jen who happily waved at us.

"Hi Kellyn, hi Luana! Ollie and Crawford are still at the Ranger School, they may not be back for a while, I'll tell them you guys said hello if you want!" Jen said with a smile.

"Hi Jen, that would be very nice of you to do. Thanks!" Luana said as we waved and exited the base.

"Since they're not back yet, let's head to Pueltown, we can check back tomorrow since they'll most likely be exhausted from all the work they had to do today." I said as we made our way inside Vien Forest.

"Good idea, it won't take us too long to reach there!" Luana said as we spotted a Staraptor.

I went up to the Staraptor and captured it after making only a few loops. Afterwards, Luana and I both hopped on the Staraptor, asking it to take us to Pueltown, which it happily did so as we quickly arrived at the entrance to Pueltown. As I released the Staraptor, Luana and I looked around for Murph, spotting him sitting down patiently on a bench as we both approached him, with a big grin on his face when we saw us.


	31. Chapter 31: A familiar skulker!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or the Ranger series.**

**A/N: Involves sexual references.**

Chapter 31: A familiar skulker!

"Hi Murph, we're here to help you on your quest! What would you like us to help you out with?" I said enthusiastically as Murph started getting fidgety and motioned for us to sit on the bench with him, which we did.

"Hello Kellyn, hi Luana! As you guys may have heard, I've had to do a lot of paperwork recently such as filing away all of the quest information Rangers and Top Rangers have done, checking out the facilities and equipment the Top Mechanics have repaired and ensuring that the Top Operators are doing their best. On top of that, being the PR Manager for the Ranger Union and trying to address any public concerns with Team Dim Sun can be somewhat tiring. However, I wanted to do something nice for Linda, to let her know how much I care about her. One of her favorite Pokémon is Roserade and I wanted to give her one, but of course, I don't have a Styler to actually capture one. I saw a Roserade the other day right by the Ranger Union, it was on this small area by the river, you guys would have to go down the waterfall in order to find it. Will you guys help me out on my quest?" Murph said.

"Of course we'll help you out! Let's head over to the Ranger Union right now!" Luana said as we all started the walk and made our way to the Union Road.

"Thank you guys, I really appreciate it. Hopefully there's going to be a couple of Floatzel by the river for you guys to use in order to get across. Once you find it, you'll just have to head downwards and go down the waterfall, there's going to be a small pier leading to the area where I saw the Roserade." Murph said as we made our way to the river, spotting two Floatzel.

"You're welcome Murph, we're glad to be helping you out! Since there's two Floatzel, Luana and I can go and get the Roserade. How's that sound?" I said.

"That sounds great, I don't mind stay here, it won't take you too long to find the Roserade, the area itself seems rather small, at least from what I could see. Good luck you two!" Murph said as we both ran up to the Floatzel, capturing both of them after evading their Bubblebeams.

Afterwards, we hopped on the Floatzel and headed down the river, making sure to hold on to the Floatzel since we were headed down the waterfall. After we made our way to the pier, we asked the Floatzel to stay with us since only a select amount of Pokémon could stay with us after we've received their help, such as Empoleon or Floatzel, while the majority would be released.

"I'm glad we'll be able to help Murph out, Linda really seems to care about him. Let's go find that Roserade!" Luana said as we made our way from the small pier and headed down the path.

As we continued walking, we found several Pokémon here, such as a few Roselia, a Kricketune and a few Aipom. The area we were walking through was quite beautiful, with several large trees and bushes in the middle, however as we circled around the entire area, Luana and I saw that there was some tall grass which would have reached our torsos if we decided to walk through it, though of course, we didn't do so since there was the possibility that Pokémon were using the tall grass as their nests.

We finished circling around the area and walked back to the main path that continued to lead straight down the road, as we continued walking farther down the path, most of the Pokémon were rather friendly and either came up to us or handed us an Oran berry, which we decided to share with them while Luana and I took a small piece for ourselves.

After some more walking, we eventually saw a Roserade near a cave as it happily wandered around. I decided to be cautious when approaching it and when it spotted me, it launched a seed at me, which instantaneously sprouted into a large vine with spines on it. I started to make some loops around the Roserade, with its friendship meter getting about halfway full while Luana cheered me on.

Eventually, the vine slowly started to disappear, but not before I had to avoid the Roserade's Razor Leaf as leaves rapidly spun around in all directions. I turned to look back since I was worried that Luana didn't duck in time but thankfully, she did. I decided to make quicker and more precise loops around the Roserade as it started to charge up a Solarbeam, I was able to capture it before it could fire it at me and had Roserade registered in our Browser.

"Great work Kellyn, it's a good thing the trees around here prevented Roserade from firing that Solarbeam at you. Do you want to see what's in this cave?" Luana said as Roserade started jumping up and down.

"Sure, we can check it out before heading back to Murph!" I said as we entered the cave.

The cave itself was rather small and the only thing inside was a statue made of rock that looked very weathered. Upon examining the statue with my Fine Styler, it said that the rock required a Pokémon with Crush 5 in order for it to be destroyed. We quickly exited afterwards and started walking back to the pier.

"That rock statue…it's similar to that ice statue we saw in Almia Castle, if there's two of them…then there could be more! I'll make a notation of this one as well so we won't forget! I really like this area, it feels so peaceful here!" Luana said as we made our way to the area with the trees.

"You're so smart Luana, we can be on the lookout for any other statues. I think this area is really relaxing as well, the Pokémon here are friendly as well, hopefully this Roserade will be friendly the next time it sees us since it seemed rather agitated." I said as the Roserade handed me a Sitrus berry, which we all shared between each other.

"Looks like it got friendly fast thanks to you capturing it! Good thing too, I can see the Floatzel from here." Luana said as we started to go past the trees.

However, as we were doing so, I thought I saw some blonde hair, which quickly made me stop in my tracks and rub my eyes, when I looked at where the blonde hair was, it was gone. Luana turned back and gently shook me, which made me go out of my daze.

"Ah…d-did you see that? I thought I…saw someone over there with blonde hair…" I stammered, confused of the situation.

"No one else seems to have been here from the time that we arrived. Let's check it out, we got each other and Roserade to help us if they're dangerous." Luana said as we approached the multitude of trees.

We kept a distance of about twenty feet in case whoever was there tried to attack us, after a short while, I saw the blonde hair quickly pass by again, it looked…familiar. As I looked around briefly, I noticed some of the Pokémon were still there, though they were nowhere near the trees.

"I don't like this, it's very creepy." I said nervously.

"I know, it's unnerving. I saw the blonde hair too, Murph doesn't have a Styler so we'll have to try getting his attention in some way. Let's head over to the pier." Luana said as we both started to head to the pier, though we heard rustling from the same area as someone fell on the ground with a wound on their head.

"Is…is that…Rhythmi?! What is she doing here? She looks like she got a nasty bump on her head but…this feels wrong, she's still supposed to be in Fiore with Keith as they're both receiving training for their positions." I said as I carried Rhythmi and we all headed back to the pier where the Floatzel was waiting.

As I examined her face, I noticed how she looks exactly like Rhythmi…despite this actually being Rhythmi or not, with her being here, especially without Keith, is extremely suspicious.

"Luana, let's put her in the interrogation room, Rhythmi is still in Fiore, I'm sure of it. What do you think about that?" I whispered.

"That's a smart idea, I'm also rather certain that Rhythmi is still in Fiore. It wouldn't make sense that she would be in those trees of all places. Let's go back to Murph before she wakes up!" Luana said as we got on the Floatzel and made our way back up the waterfall, holding Rhythmi with one hand and the Floatzel with the other.

We made our way to the pier by the Ranger Union, Murph was still standing by the pier patiently waiting, though he became very confused when he saw 'Rhythmi' unconscious and smiled when he saw the Roserade.

"Thanks for bringing the Roserade guys, is that… Rhythmi? When I spoke with her yesterday, she was on her way to Almia with Keith and she was happy to come back since she would be able to see everyone again. You guys found her in that forested area? Let's head back to the Ranger Union right away, this is extremely suspicious!" Murph said as we all reached the Ranger Union and headed to the interrogation and examination room, placing 'Rhythmi' on a chair.

"Murph? Can you please tell Chairperson Erma about how we found Rhythmi? Before we forget, here's your Roserade to give to Linda!" I said as I handed Roserade to Murph, which he happily took.

"No problem, I'll make sure to tell Chairperson Erma right now! Thanks for the Roserade!" Murph said as we heard him get on the escalator.

Rhythmi was still unconscious but we both pulled up chairs next to her for when she wakes up, after we did so, we heard the door open as Chairperson Erma and Murph walked in the room.

"Hello dearies, thank you both for helping Murph with his quest. Marcus will give you two the Power Up data for reducing Bug damage by three shortly. As for what to do with this girl, it's rather odd how she looks so much like Rhythmi, though from what Murph told me, this…can't be her. She's on her way to Almia with Keith, she wouldn't be here by herself. In the event that she wakes up, just try to seem as if she actually is Rhythmi." Chairperson Erma said.

"Don't worry Chairperson Erma, I'll be here with Kellyn in case anything happens." Luana said as I smiled at her.

"Wonderful idea dearie, thanks for everything you've done. Murph, you'll be going to give the Roserade to Linda, correct?" Chairperson Erma said with a smile as Murph started to get flustered.

"Y-yes ma'am, I'll be showing this amazing Roserade to Linda now, thank you once again, Kellyn and Luana." Murph said as he waved and ran out the door with the Roserade following.

After Murph left, Luana and I quickly brought Chairperson Erma outside where 'Rhythmi' wouldn't hear us.

"Murph's a quick one, he's just like Linda! Chairperson Erma, the reason we brought you out here was because since…er… Rhythmi is still unconscious, once she comes to, should I just act as if this Rhythmi is the same one from Ranger School? She doesn't know who Luana is but in case she tries anything, having Luana with me would be absolutely needed." I said.

"I completely agree. Let me give you two some rope to tie her up, ask her some questions and try to see if she'll be threatening, we don't know how dangerous she'll be but you two can handle her. When you two are finished, you can both do whatever you please as I'll have two Rangers continue interrogating her afterwards. I'll be upstairs as usual but if you and Luana need anything, just let me know!" Chairperson Erma said as she handed us rope, which was more than enough to tie 'Rhythmi' up if she tried anything.

"Thanks Chairperson Erma, we'll be careful, bye!" Luana said as Chairperson Erma waved to us.

Luana and I both received the Power Up data for reducing Bug type damage by three, meaning we only had nineteen more quests to go! We then headed back into the room as the imposter was still unconscious, closing the door behind us. We both sat down across from Rhythmi as I hid the rope between my arms, wondering how long she would feign being nice or if she would attack us when she wakes up. Eventually, she started to slowly wake up, which made both Luana and I get tense as her eyes fluttered open.

"Where am I? Kellyn?! Is that you? I remember that I was headed to Almia but it seems I'm already here. Are you Luana? I've heard a lot about you from Kellyn, you look great! It's so nice to see you Kellyn!" The imposter said as she smirked and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

I was stunned that she did this and Luana and I briefly became infuriated, though we did our best to calm down so that 'Rhythmi' wouldn't suspect anything, so we both simply gave her a small smile.

"Er..hello Rhythmi, it's nice to see you again as well…do you remember where you've been the past few days? We've been trying to get a hold of you and Keith." I said.

_'__Her mannerisms are completely different from the real one, for one thing, the real Rhythmi would hug me, but certainly wouldn't kiss me on the cheek, especially because Luana is right here and secondly, I haven't been able to talk with Rhythmi, I didn't tell her anything about Luana.' _I thought to myself.

"Where I've been? Hee hee…I've been traveling around Almia before I decided to head back to the Ranger Union, I haven't been able to contact anyone for a few days because Keith's Styler was off. Is something the matter?" Rhythmi said as she got a rather…mischievous grin.

"You've been traveling around Almia instead of coming back to the Ranger Union? If that's the case, why didn't you head to the Ranger Union right away or ask a citizen or a Ranger if they can help you get to the Ranger Union if you were lost? If you remembered that Keith's Styler was supposedly inoperable or turned off, how come you didn't try looking for any Rangers or security guards to have them help you get in touch with any of your other Top Operator friends?" I said.

_'__I don't want to point out the odd circumstances just yet, not until I get an answer from this girl.' _I thought to myself, wondering if Rhythmi was getting irritated or not.

It turns out that Rhythmi was in fact, getting rather annoyed, as she briefly appeared to have a scowl on her face, though she immediately smiled afterwards.

"Hee hee, I just wanted to see how beautiful Almia was before I headed back to the Union, that's all. I figured asking any citizens or Rangers would simply waste their time so I decided not to bother them asking for directions." Rhythmi said as she looked right at me, licking her lips which made me flinch in fear, wondering what she was planning.

"That's understandable, Almia is a very beautiful region. Your Top Operator friends really miss you." Luana said as she held my hand briefly under the table as a way for me to regain my composure from this imposter's scary demeanor.

"I know…Jerry and Jessica haven't heard from me in a while, how are they doing?" Rhythmi said as she once again looked at me, licking her lips once more.

"They're doing good, by the way Rhythmi, what has Kellyn told you about me?" Luana said as Rhythmi started to look panicked and began to sweat.

"Kellyn has told me you're a wonderful person and that you helped save Pokémon and citizens several times!" Rhythmi said.

Luana and I looked at each other and contemplated what to do next and we both figured confronting her about all the odd behavior was the best choice.

"See Rhythmi, that's the problem we've been having with you. First of all, when considering Kellyn's reaction, you wouldn't have kissed him on the cheek at all. Second of all, you claimed that you couldn't contact anyone because of Keith's Styler giving an issue, yet no one has seen Keith in Almia and besides that, you could have gone to a citizen or a Ranger and ask for help if something happened to him yet you didn't do so. Another issue is that Kellyn never spoke to you since you left the region, combined with the fact that those aren't the names of the Top Operators working here." Luana said calmly as Rhythmi started to become alarmed.

"Looks like you two found me out…very impressive. It's a shame Kellyn has you as a partner, I was hoping to have some…fun with him once his back was turned, I would have loved making him suffer and hearing him scream. Are you sure you don't want some of me, Kellyn?" Rhythmi said as she once again licked her lips, when I glanced over at Luana, I saw her trying her best to stay calm.

"No, you sick freak. Where's the real Rhythmi? What did you do with her?" I said as Rhythmi started to laugh.

"The real Rhythmi is on her way to Almia, I was only told to act like her so that I could try confusing the Rangers here into thinking that I was really her. She and Keith are fine, I only knew about them and you guys based on what I heard from Team Dim Sun. Sadly, you two were the Rangers who found me. If it was any other Ranger, I would have killed them and stolen their uniform, doing whatever I could do blend in, but an annoying Seedot somehow sensed I wasn't a friendly person and attacked me." Rhythmi said as she scowled once more, which Luana and I used to our advantage as we tied her up quickly.

"Wonderful, thanks for the help… Rhythmi. Some other Rangers will be here shortly." Luana said as we both exited the room and locked the door.

Just as we left the room, two Rangers arrived from the first floor and headed inside the room, prepared to ask the imposter more questions. Luana and I headed downstairs and went into our room, neither of us were exhausted but dealing with that imposter was rather hectic…and scary.

"Luana, you did some amazing work, that imposter didn't stand a chance!" I said.

"Thanks Kellyn, you were really awesome yourself, I'm glad that she won't be causing anyone harm." Luana said as she gave me a hug.

"Yeah, she was scary...however, I have a great present to reward you with for doing a great job like always, please close your eyes." I said as Luana did so.

"A present for me? You're too sweet Kellyn, I wonder what it is!" Luana said.

I leaned in and kissed Luana on her lips, pulling away after a brief moment as Luana opened her eyes and smiled.

"That was a great present, wasn't it? I actually have another present for you, close your eyes again, Luana." I said as Luana did so.

I decided to joke with her as I took Luana's Fine Styler off of her arm and ran over to the dresser. Luana's eyes opened up right away as she smiled at me, intent on getting her Fine Styler back.

"K-Kellyn! I need my Styler back please!" Luana said as I snickered.

"Sorry Luana, I always wanted to see how two Stylers would look on someone." I said as I put Luana's Styler on my other arm, after a few seconds of admiring it, I noticed that Luana was steadily getting closer, looking as if she was about to lunge at me.

"That looks really cool actually, now that you've tried on my Styler for a bit, can you please give it to me?" Luana said as she approached closer.

"I will in a second, don't you worry!" I said as I winked at Luana and removed the Styler, hiding it behind my back as Luana got a few inches from my face.

"Kellyn, please give it to me, I'll give you a kiss if you do." Luana said as she smiled sweetly, which made my face feel hot.

"Can I keep your Styler and still get a kiss?" I said.

"Hmmm, sure you can!" Luana said as she kissed me on the lips.

"That was an awesome kiss, thanks for the Styler!" I said as Luana grinned.

"What?! I was just joking! Kellyn, I have to get my Styler! Give it to me, pretty please?" Luana said as I tried holding the Styler tighter.

However, Luana immediately started tickling me, which made her quickly reach around and take her Styler back as I started to chuckle, both from being tickled and because of the little joke I did to Luana.

"That was pretty funny, you looked so adorable being all flustered, Luana!" I said as Luana put her Styler back on.

"That was a good joke you played on me! Do you have any other presents for me?" Luana said as we both headed near the beds.

"I do, close your eyes again, I won't take your Styler this time." I said as Luana closed her eyes.

I couldn't help but grin as I saw how beautiful Luana looked, and I decided to make out with her as she did the same with me. Eventually, we got more intense and continued to kiss each other passionately as we ended up on the bed which eventually led to Luana and I making love to each other that finished after we went at it for a while.

"Kellyn…that's exactly why they call you a Top Ranger! I really enjoyed myself considering how…close to you I got. That was a wonderful present." Luana said with a blush.

"Thanks Luana, that certainly was a lot of fun! Do you want to see how Sven and Wendy are doing? We can say hi to them if you'd like!" I said as Luana got up from the bed.

"Sure, just let me get ready, I won't be taking too long!" Luana said as she raced into the bathroom.

I patiently waited for Luana to come out of the bathroom while in the meantime, I fixed up our bed and put our blankets to be washed. Afterwards, Luana exited the bathroom while I rushed in, finishing my business as I left the bathroom and got ready, finishing a little quicker than Luana.

"I'm ready when you are, hopefully Sven and Wendy got the rest they needed!" I said as Luana and I left our room and squeaked Sven's Eevee toy.

After a few seconds, Sven opened the door as with a smile on his face.

"Hi Kellyn, hi Luana, please come in!" Sven said as we both entered.

Luana and I saw Wendy sitting on the sofa as she happily motioned for us to come over, Luana and I both sat down on chairs adjacent from her, while Sven closed the door and sat down next to Wendy.

"Hi Kellyn, hi Luana! It's good to see you guys, Murph told us that thanks to you guys, he was able to give a Roserade to Linda! Good work!" Wendy said with a grin.

"Hi, it's nice to see you and Sven. We're glad we could help Murph out with telling Linda how he feels!" I said as Wendy started to snicker.

"The both of you are really great Top Rangers, you're both great at helping people and Pokémon! I also heard that Rhythmi and Keith will be reaching here tomorrow morning. Isn't that great?" Sven said.

"The both of you are wonderful Top Rangers too, you're both very dependable! It's nice that Rhythmi and Keith will be here soon, I'm sure they have some great stories to tell and Kellyn's got some fun stories to share as well! If you don't mind me asking, did you hear a joke recently, Wendy? We'd love to hear it!" Luana said.

"Well, it wasn't a joke, but as I was heading back to our room, I heard what sounded like a few death screams coming from your room." Wendy said as we both blushed heavily.

"Er…you did? I just took Luana's Styler as a joke, that's all!" I said.

"Hahah, good, sounds like you two had fun! I'm just joking with you guys!" Wendy said as we both relaxed.

"Wendy always loves playing a prank or joking with someone. I'm rather excited to see Keith and Rhythmi especially since their training is done. I wonder what else we'll we do tomorrow, maybe can do some quests!" Sven said.

"I wonder if they'll be staying at the Ranger Union permanently, if they are, it'll be really hectic around here with how energetic those two are. Doing some quests sounds like it'll be fun, maybe some more will be available for us tomorrow!" I said.

"Were Keith and Rhythmi like that in Ranger School too? Sounds like they got in trouble often!" Luana said.


	32. Chapter 32: A plan to help Keith!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or the Ranger series.**

**A/N: This chapter involves everyone coming together to help Kellyn and Luana with a plan as Keith intends to Hippowdon Ruins by himself!**

Chapter 32: A plan to help Keith!

"Keith was definitely like that in Ranger School, Rhythmi certainly wasn't. Ms. April would just keep Keith back by ten minutes or so since it was usually for something like sleeping in class. Keith would always want to see Rhythmi and she would join him even as Ms. April was scolding him. At first, Ms. April was a bit annoyed at Rhythmi for being there, but she knew that the two of them cared about each other and no one was really bothered by it. I would say that's how they got closer and they both decided to accept jobs in Fiore." I said.

"That's sweet, even though Rhythmi didn't have to stay back until Keith finished getting scolded, she actually joined him!" Wendy said.

"Yeah, it is a rather nice story, speaking of Rhythmi, did you guys hear about the imposter that looked just like her? She was rather scary when Luana and I were talking with her." I said as I shuddered slightly.

"I did hear about it, Murph told us how you guys found her as well, in that forested area by the Ranger Union. We saw her being carried away by two Rangers, most likely to take her to Fiore where she'll stay locked up. She had a wig on with her hair was dark brown, though other than that, she looked identical to Rhythmi according to what Murph informed us of." Sven said.

"Good thing she's going to Fiore, she won't be able to trouble anyone again. Something I was wondering was about the three gems, the Blue Gem and the Red Gem are safely inside the Ranger Union on the fourth floor, but what about the Yellow Gem? That's located in Hippowdon Ruins and from what I've heard, it's not easy going through there. Should we ask Chairperson Erma about launching an expedition there? It's 5 P.M., so we should go quickly before she goes to eat dinner!" I said as everyone got eager and filed out of the room.

"That'll be a great idea, I've always wanted to visit Hippowdon Ruins! I remember Professor Hastings saying he would get an explorer to make a general layout of the Ruins, maybe they're finished with it by now." Luana said.

"I hope they are, let's ask Chairperson Erma and see if she would like the idea and then go to Professor Hastings for the layout." Sven said as we all got up and headed to the third floor.

As we made our way over to Chairperson Erma, we saw her talking to a guy with red spiky hair, while a girl with blonde hair was listening intently. that must be Keith and Rhythmi!

"Keith, because of your great work in Fiore and the fact that you're a Rank 6 Top Ranger, Professor Hastings and I have decided to allow you to get the Yellow Gem located in Hippowdon Ruins, Professor Hastings has also given you the map data for the Ruins, so getting there won't be as stressful! As for you Rhythmi, you'll be Keith's Top Operator as he goes through the Ruins. These are our four Top Rangers, I'm certain you've heard of the wonderful things they've done for Almia!" Chairperson Erma said with a smile as she waved us over.

Keith and Rhythmi turned around with smiles forming on their faces as they ran to us and hugged me for a few seconds.

"Kellyn?! It's so nice to see you! How have you been? Isn't it exciting being a Top Ranger? Is the girl with the black hair your girlfriend?" Keith said eagerly as Luana blushed.

"Hi Keith, it's been a while but I'm happy to see you and Rhythmi back in Almia! I've been doing good, I'm enjoying being a Top Ranger especially because I'm able to help people. Yes, Luana is my girlfriend, I'm happy to have her." I said.

"You're Luana?! Linda and Marcus told me a lot of amazing things about you, it's so nice to finally meet you! Keith and I really admire all four of you, especially you two!" Rhythmi said.

"Hello there Rhythmi, it's great to meet you as well, I'm flattered that Linda and Marcus spoke about us so highly. You and Keith should hear some of Sven and Wendy's stories if Linda and Marcus didn't tell either of you about their adventures." Luana said as Keith and Rhythmi introduced themselves to Sven and Wendy.

"Now that you're all introduced, I'll go show Keith and Rhythmi to their room. It's going to be next to Linda's room on this floor. The four of you can follow as well, come along now!" Chairperson Erma said as she opened the brown door that was next to the Operators' area of work.

When we went through the door, we saw that we were in a similar hallway as the one downstairs with four doors being located on both sides. Chairperson Erma opened the second door on the right and we all entered the room, with the room itself being identical to Sven and Wendy's, minus any decorations.

"Woah, this is our room, it's awesome! Thank you Chairperson Erma!" Rhythmi happily said.

"Thanks Chairperson Erma, this room will come in handy since we'll be staying in Almia from now on. By the way, I'm not sure if you guys overheard Chairperson Erma talking to me and Rhythmi, but I'll be going to Hippowdon Ruins and she'll be the Top Operator helping me the whole way. The trip is going to take a few hours to reach Haruba Desert and based on the map of the Ruins, it seems like it'll take a few hours to explore it entirely. The trip is going to be tomorrow afternoon and Chairperson Erma informed me of the possibility of Team Dim Sun having a few bases around Almia, when I come back with the Yellow Gem, we can look around for them!" Keith said.

"Sounds like a great idea, it would be nice to explore Hippowdon Ruins but you're a good Top Ranger. Just don't make Rhythmi worry too much while you're there!" I said with a chuckle.

"Don't worry, I won't! I'm rather exhausted from the travel so I'll be taking a nice nap even though it's…5 P.M.?!" Keith said as he raised his eyebrows.

"It's okay Keith, you're tired. Get some rest and then you can hang out with us for a bit if you'd like. We'll be on the first floor in the first room on the right." Luana said.

"Thank you Luana, I'll make sure to head downstairs to meet up with you guys once I sleep for a bit. See you guys soon!" Keith said as he immediately flopped down on the bed, as everyone left the room and headed back to the Operators' room.

"Well dearies, since Keith will be going to Hippowdon Ruins tomorrow, the five of you can do whatever you please since I'll be helping Rhythmi get settled in tomorrow! If you need anything, I'll be here!" Chairperson Erma said.

"Thanks Chairperson Erma, we'll let you know if anything comes up!" I said as we all went downstairs and headed into our room.

"That's an awesome loveseat you guys have, it's adorable!" Wendy said.

"Thanks, it's probably one of the pieces of furniture in here that I like the most. Let me get some chairs for us." I said.

Luana and I took out three of the foldable chairs and put them by the steel counter as Sven, Wendy and Rhythmi sat down. Afterwards, Luana and I sat down on the loveseat comfortably.

"This room is rather nice, I love the dresser! Thanks for inviting me to hang out with you guys for a bit!" Rhythmi said.

"It's no problem! How was Fiore? What sort of things did you guys do there aside from training?" Luana said.

"Fiore was very nice, it's extremely similar to Almia, though I think Almia is much nicer with people and Pokémon, the people over at Fiore were so rude! Keith would usually go on missions and take down members of a group called the Go-Rock Squad, I would do my Operator work and help him out when I could. I'm glad to be back in Almia, it's so much better here. I heard about Team Dim Sun causing trouble in Almia though nothing in great detail, are they worse than the Go-Rock Squad?" Rhythmi said.

"The Go-Rock Squad, from what I've heard isn't too threatening compared to some of the Team Dim Sun members we've encountered." Wendy said.

"Whether they're threatening or not, if they're causing harm to others, they have to be stopped." I said.

"I would say that the Go-Rock Squad is a little less threatening compared to Team Dim Sun, they stole and copied the design of the Styler that Rangers use and made it their own to control Pokémon, though most of them don't know how to use it and according to Keith, even those who know how to use their modified Styler don't do a good job of using it, only managing to capture one or two Pokémon at a time." Rhythmi said.

"Wow, maybe the Go-Rock Squad would eventually become a bigger threat than Team Dim Sun if they get more members. Thanks to Kellyn and Luana, they've both made quick work of some of the members who work for Team Dim Sun." Sven said.

"While we may have gotten some members of Team Dim Sun, the both of you have been able to do great work, such as dealing with Team Dim Sun in the Chroma Ruins and helping out citizens!" I said.

"Thanks Kellyn, you and Luana always encourage us! One of me and Wendy's adventures involved when we reached the Red Gem. When we reached deep inside of the Boyle Volcano, we encountered a woman with pink hair and a pink uniform, she said her name was Leilani and that she was a member of the Sinis Trio. She used her Miniremo to have a Magmortar attack us and the Pokémon was so vicious, we repeatedly had to avoid its Flamethrower and the rocks it kept throwing at us. We were both able to successfully capture it and Leilani fled afterwards, we were about to get the Red Gem until Linda informed us that there's a nearby Pokémon guarding it and that it was powerful." Sven said.

"That's right, it was a Pokémon called Heatran and it was scary. It had these glowing orange eyes and spewed fire at us, it was even more of a dangerous situation when we were about to capture it as it made a pool of magma in an attempt to burn us, though we were able to capture it with only minor damage to our Stylers." Wendy said.

"Wow, that's an amazing story! See that? You two are really super!" Luana said cheerfully.

"They certainly are! If Luana and I tried that, we couldn't pull it off as smoothly as you guys did, you two are seriously awesome!" I said as Sven and Wendy smiled.

"Thanks guys, now we just have to wait for the Yellow Gem and then we'll be prepared to attack Team Dim Sun. It's really frustrating to wonder where their bases are though." Sven said as Rhythmi yawned.

"Sorry about that, I'm really tired as well. Before I head back upstairs, I did want to say that based on what I've seen on the Almia news station, the four of you are amazing Top Rangers. If anyone can find Team Dim Sun's bases, it's you guys!" Rhythmi said as she yawned again.

"Thanks for the kind words Rhythmi, go back upstairs and sleep, I'm sure Keith would appreciate the company!" I said.

"He definitely will. Keith and I will try coming back downstairs tomorrow morning when we're well rested. Bye everyone!" Rhythmi said as she exited the room and closed the door.

"Since Rhythmi went back upstairs, do you guys want to see if there are any nearby Staraptors so that we can head to Haruba Village? Maybe we can all go on a boat to reach there!" Luana said as Sven and Wendy widened their eyes.

"Huh?! Luana, you know that Keith is going to be heading to the Hippowdon Ruins tomorrow. Maybe we should wait until Keith comes back before going there ourselves, I'm certain that he'll be able to get the Yellow Gem." Sven said.

"I think that Luana is concerned because of how dangerous she heard Hippowdon Ruins is, that explorer may have done a great job detailing the ruins, but what if they didn't encounter any traps or dangerous Pokémon? Keith could very well be in danger. Team Dim Sun may also be in that area too, meaning there's more risk with Keith going there alone." I said as Luana smiled at me.

"That's a good point, Team Dim Sun has been in most areas by now, I wouldn't be surprised if they're also in the Ruins. While Keith's a Top Ranger like us, there's the chance that he wouldn't be fine considering how dangerous it is." Wendy said.

"While I do think Keith can handle himself, there's also the possibility that Team Dim Sun is around Haruba Village or the Hippowdon Ruins like Kellyn said. Remember Chroma Ruins and how there were all those grunts there? If Keith was dealing with the dangerous Pokémon in the ruins and Team Dim Sun by himself, he could get hurt or killed!" Luana said.

"That's a good point, it would be great to tell Chairperson Erma or Professor Hastings, but both of them seem very adamant that Keith will be fine going there alone." Sven said.

"That may be the case, but we should at least mention it to them! There's the possibility that when Keith goes there, he only has to avoid some Pokémon who are going to chase him, then fight the Guardian and get the Yellow Gem. Or it could be much more difficult and he has to face off against dangerous Pokémon, Team Dim Sun, the Guardian of the Gem and traps! Let's go tell Chairperson Erma, since it'll take a few hours for Keith to reach there, he'll most likely be leaving in the morning!" I said as we all exited the room and headed upstairs.

Upon reaching the third floor, we saw Chairperson Erma checking the different status screens for Rangers. Murph was talking with Linda while Marcus was making sure everyone's workstations were clean. We approached Chairperson Erma as she smiled at us, though she's quite friendly, I was worried about how to ask her if we could accompany Keith.

"Hello dearies, do you need something from Keith or Rhythmi? They're still asleep at the moment since Keith will be heading for Haruba Village in the morning by boat. Do you perhaps have a question for me?" Chairperson Erma said as I got fidgety.

"Hi Chairperson Erma, we don't need help from Keith or Rhythmi, but we were wondering if we could…go to the Haruba Village. We suspect that Team Dim Sun might have their base in that area and possibly other places across the area. Everyone would like to head there, mainly because of how dangerous Hippowdon Ruins can be. We would love to keep Keith safe and away from danger, especially because of the Pokémon that are located there." I said.

"While I do appreciate all of you being concerned for Keith's wellbeing, he'll be able to take care of himself! No one has mentioned any Team Dim Sun members nearby either!" Chairperson Erma said.

"But Chairperson Erma, what if Keith gets hurt? Can we at least head to Haruba Village and stay there until Keith enters the ruins and gets the Gem?" Wendy said.

"No need to worry dearies, Keith will be fine, he's a dedicated Top Ranger who will have a map of the Hippowdon Ruins, he'll be able to manage it! Head downstairs and relax!" Chairperson Erma said as we went back downstairs with the four of us being at the entrance to our rooms.

"Should we just wait then? It's a bit frustrating that Chairperson Erma doesn't want us going there…" I said.

"It seems like all we can do is wait. Sven and I will be heading back to our room to relax a bit, it was great hanging out with you guys!" Wendy said.

"It was fun being with you two as well, if you two need anything, just knock!" I said as we waved to them and entered our own room with Luana and I sitting on the bed.

"I think Team Dim Sun really is in Hippowdon Ruins. If they are, then I'm worried for the citizens there, as well as the Pokémon and Keith. Unfortunately, we can't go there since Chairperson Erma feels that Keith is going to be safe. But I really think he's in danger…what if we went there and made it seem like we were visiting your family?" I said.

"That's an incredible idea, the only thing that worries me is that the monitors in the Operator Room show our locations, meaning you, me, Wendy and Sven would be found out if Chairperson Erma headed there." Luana said.

I thought for a moment about what could be done, if anything. Chairperson Erma is concerned about all of us, which is understandable, but at the same time, she might get angry if she found out we were in Hippowdon Ruins when we were supposedly visiting Luana's parents. After a brief moment of thinking, I came up with an idea that involved the Top Operators. As I looked up after thinking, I noticed Luana staring at me intently with a smile on her face.

"Did you come up with the same idea I did?" We both said simultaneously.

"Let's say our ideas and see if they match up!" Luana said.

"Okay, so the idea that I came up with might work, though we need all three Top Operators and Sven and Wendy to assist us in order for it to be successful. We can have Linda and Marcus assist us with making it seem like we're in Haruba Village visiting your parents, when we're actually going to be in Hippowdon Ruins making sure Keith stays safe. We can also have Rhythmi distract Chairperson Erma or even have Rhythmi find out Chairperson Erma's schedule throughout the day to see what she'll be doing, giving us an advantage." Luana and I said.

"Wow, we even think alike! We can get Ben, Betty and Murph to help as well, since we'll need our Pokémon and Murph can also do something to distract Chairperson Erma in some way. Ben and Betty can also ask Chairperson Erma something in order to simply distract her as well, such as needing more Pokémon food, medicine or other supplies. How does that sound?" I said.

"Great idea! Let's go get Sven and Wendy and then look for Murph! He might be with Linda and Marcus, I know that Ben and Betty are going to be in the Pokémon training room right now so getting them all together is what we have to do!" Luana said as we headed outside and squeezed Sven and Wendy's Eevee toy, hoping they weren't asleep.

Thankfully, their door opened almost immediately as Wendy waved us in. Luana and I both entered and sat down, with Sven and Wendy sitting across from us.

"Hi guys! What can we help you with?" Wendy said cheerfully.

"Kellyn and I came up with a great idea! We were going to devise a plan and head to Hippowdon Ruins anyway, we'll have Marcus and Linda make it seem as if we're actually still in Haruba Village. Then, we'll have Murph, Ben and Betty distract Chairperson Erma. The only issue is we don't know her schedule." Luana said.

"Wow, you two are crafty, that plan can work! Murph and Linda are actually about to head out to eat for dinner, let's tag along with them, they'll help us out!" Sven said as we exited their room.

As we all headed to the lobby, we noticed that Linda and Murph were headed out the front door, with the both of them holding hands. The four of us followed them to Union Road and then quickly got behind both of them, the two of them getting quite startled when I tapped their shoulders.

"Hi guys, nice to see you! We're headed out to lunch, do any of you need something?" Murph said as I told him and Linda the plan.

"That's…that's an amazing plan and it can work if we have Marcus, Ben and Betty on board. I know that they all usually eat together in Pueltown by a small table, let's hurry over there!" Linda said as we all went over to Pueltown.

"The three of them are over there, by that small flower patch. Kellyn, you should go over by yourself, even though the three of them are familiar with us, they might be suspicious of us all being there at once." Murph said as I walked over to them.

"Hi guys! How are you all doing? Sorry to disturb your dinner, I had something to ask the three of you if that's okay." I said as everyone looked up from their food.

"Hi Kellyn, that's no problem! We're doing great, what can we help you with?" Ben said as I informed them of my plan.

"Wow…this is going to be fun!" Marcus said excitedly while Ben and Betty grinned.

"I know, it's something that can work considering all of us will be collaborating together. What if Chairperson Erma comes to the Operator's room and notices anything strange?" I said.

"Don't worry Kellyn, Ben and I will keep her distracted before she goes there and we'll start by hiding supplies and other things to make it seem as if they're missing. We'll help out however we can!" Betty said.

"Thanks guys, one more thing, Marcus, I'm worried that you and Linda might not be able to make it seem as if the four of us are actually in Haruba Village even when we head to Hippowdon Ruins. Would something like that be possible?" I said as Marcus, Ben and Betty finished their food.

"Linda and I can do that easily, the boat leading to Haruba Village will take you all there in about…two hours, Staraptors are a bit faster but the area usually has sandstorms." Marcus said as he took Ben and Betty's wrappers and headed over to where the trash can was.

"Really?! Great! Thank you so much for the help you guys!" I said as Marcus, Ben and Betty headed over to where everyone else was.

"It's no problem, let's head back to the Ranger Union before it gets more dark!" Ben said.

We all walked through Union Road, enjoying how nice the scenery was. Some Starly were up in a nest, peacefully sleeping as we all took extra care to walk past them. We eventually reached the Ranger Union's entrance.

"Time to put that plan into action. Maybe we can all be actors when it's over! Good night guys!" Ben said.

"We probably could, good night you two! Try to be as natural as possible around Chairperson Erma." Luana said in a hushed tone as Ben and Betty nodded and went inside.

"This is a good plan, I'll do what I can to help out!" Murph said.

"That's right, everyone does what they can to help! Good night everyone!" Linda said as she and Murph went inside.

"Marcus, another issue is that none of us know Chairperson Erma's schedule. If we know when she goes to eat or make lunch, perhaps we can have Ben, Betty or Murph distract her the whole time." Luana said.

"That's a good idea, I actually have her schedule right here!" Marcus said as he handed it to us.

"Wow, we can use this schedule to our advantage!" Wendy said.

"You're right, we could have Ben and Betty delay Chairperson Erma around 1 P.M., that's around the time that it says she's usually in the Operator's room. Would that time work?" Sven said.

As we all looked over the schedule, I was happy that it showed Chairperson Erma would be nowhere near the Operator's Room for a while, she would only really be there at 10 P.M. doing things around the end of the day and we'll all be back by then.

"That would be a great time to start having one of those three distract her. The only other problem is that Rhythmi might suspect something. Should we even tell her? We're all concerned about Keith's safety since he'll be headed there alone, where backup can take hours to reach, in an area…. filled with dangerous Pokémon and most likely, Team Dim Sun. This is going to be dangerous for the four of us, let alone one Top Ranger." I said.

"That's very concerning. We should tell Chairperson Erma about us planning to visit my parents instead of asking if we can go with Keith, she knows they live in Haruba Village and we also stated that we would think about heading there. Maybe she would decide that us visiting Haruba Village wouldn't be bad?" Luana said.

"That's a good idea, making it seem like we're all paying your family a visit can be very effective in making Chairperson Erma let us go to Haruba Village. Let's tell her now since it's still early." I said.

"There was something I remembered, you know how my brother travels? He usually ends up going back to Haruba Village for a few weeks and he would be more than happy to see all of us compared to my parents. We can make it seem as though we're visiting him instead since I'm fairly certain that Chairperson Erma might somehow know that my parents don't really like either Terry or myself. We could say we're visiting family, that would be much easier to do and Chairperson Erma wouldn't suspect much." Luana said.

"That's a good idea, if Chairperson Erma knows about your family living in Haruba Village, she would be confused as to why you're visiting your parents, instead of your brother. It's just a minor change in plans, but it'll make our story more believable." I said as we all went inside and headed to the third floor, where Chairperson Erma was sitting down.

"Hello dearies! I was just about to head to sleep, is there something I can help the four of you with?" Chairperson Erma said.

-Luana's POV-

"Hello Chairperson Erma, we were hoping to head to Haruba Village tomorrow if that's acceptable to you. My brother tends to travel a lot and whenever he's done travelling, he comes back to Haruba Village to rest for a few weeks, we'd like to pay him a visit since Kellyn would be happy to meet my family. Wendy and Sven are tagging along since the two of them have never been to Haruba Village and they don't have anything to do tomorrow. I hope that this is okay with you." I said as Chairperson Erma smiled.

"Of course it is! Haruba Village is a lovely place and I think it's wonderful you're taking Kellyn, Sven and Wendy there. I also think that the four of you will really love Haruba Village as well, your Pokémon will enjoy the sun there. Maybe you could have Wendy and Sven borrow Raichu and Vulpix while you and Kellyn take Buneary and Pachirisu!" Chairperson Erma said.

"Thank you Chairperson Erma, we'll be leaving for Haruba Village around 10 A.M. since it'll take a couple of hours to get there. Thank you so much for allowing us to head there!" Kellyn said.

"Wonderful, I hope all of you have fun! Good night Kellyn and Luana!" Chairperson Erma said.

"We will, good night Chairperson Erma!" We said as we both headed downstairs and into our room.

"I feel like Chairperson Erma suspects something, however, she knows that we're very concerned about Keith's safety even though he's a capable Top Ranger. That was a good plan that you and I came up with Luana, awesome work! Now all we have to do is go with Sven and Wendy and bring our Partner Pokémon along." Kellyn said as we both got ready for bed, brushing our teeth and cleaning up as usual.

Kellyn and I both came out of the bathroom and lied down on the bed, though Kellyn seemed deep in thought.

"What's wrong? Are you worried about the dangers Keith will be facing?" I said.

"I was worried about how dangerous the Hippowdon Ruins are, but there's also something I was wondering about. How are we going to get a layout of the Ruins? Professor Hastings is the only one who has the actual map." Kellyn said.

"That's a good point, it would be dangerous to travel in the ruins if we have no idea where to even go." I said.

"Maybe Marcus or Linda got a copy of the map? That would be extremely helpful for us." Kellyn said as he got a call.

"Hi Kellyn, hi Luana, sorry for disturbing you two! I got good news, know what it is?" Marcus said.

"Hello Marcus, Luana and I were headed to bed early since we'll have to go in the Ruins tomorrow, it's only 7 P.M., but we want to make sure we're well rested. As for the good news, does it involve you or Linda finding a copy of the map?" Kellyn said.

"That's right! Linda and I were able to get a copy of the map and we're going to send it to you guys while you're all on the boat heading to Haruba Village! I figured I would let you guys know because traversing an area without a map would end up with you guys getting seriously hurt. Good night guys!" Marcus said as Kellyn's face brightened into a smile.

"That's awesome! Thank you so much Marcus, tell Linda I said thank you as well when you see her. Good night!" Kellyn said as he ended the call on his Styler and gave me a hug.

"This is going to be fun, if it's okay with you, can you and I visit my brother? I'm fairly certain that he's back home now, but I hope that my parents will be working by the time we're there." I said.

"Of course that's okay, I'd love to meet your brother! I know you mentioned how horrible your parents were towards you and your brother, but…would it be okay if I ask how bad they were?" Kellyn said as he moved a bit closer to me, which made my face feel hot.

"My parents were so mean to both of us. They wouldn't abuse us, but they would never help us out whenever we were being picked on by the kids and would sometimes even continue with picking on us when we went home. Despite the way my parents treated both Terry and me, I still love them. At the same time, I don't have any idea as to why my parents wouldn't stop the bullying, it made me even more confused when my parents would act similar to them. That's why I'll be glad if my brother is at home in Haruba Village when we go there tomorrow." I said as I held back my tears.

-Kellyn's POV-

"I'm…I'm so sorry Luana, I'll support you and stand by your side if your parents are going to be rude like that. No one should be treated that way, especially by their parents. The fact that you still love them despite their treatment towards you and your brother shows what a wonderful person you are. Good night Luana, I love you." I said as Luana gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you Kellyn, I really appreciate how wonderful you are. Let's get some rest so we can head out early. Good night Kellyn, I love you too." Luana said as she closed her eyes with a smile on her face.

I also closed my eyes and soon drifted off to sleep, smiling as Luana and I intertwined our hands. In the morning, I rubbed my eyes and checked my Styler, noticing it was only 8:30 A.M., I gently nudged Luana awake as she stretched briefly.

"Good morning Luana, since it's 8:30, we got some time to get ready. Sven and Wendy might be up soon as well as everyone else that will be helping us. I'm excited to be heading to Haruba Village, though I think going in the Hippowdon Temple to make sure Keith is okay would be good, the only issue is that our boat leaves after his, I really have a feeling that Team Dim Sun is going to be in the ruins and Keith will certainly be in danger then." I said as Luana smiled at me.

"I know, if Keith arrived later than us, then we could make sure that he's going to actually be okay and then head to my brother's house after getting the Yellow Gem." Luana said as we both started getting ready, changing out of our pajamas and into our Ranger uniforms.

"That's true, that would be a great plan if Keith wasn't able to go sooner than us. Let's go see where Sven and Wendy are, hopefully they're not still asleep!" I said as we both headed out of the room, almost bumping into Wendy.

"Hi guys! Sven is already in the cafeteria, Rhythmi hasn't seen Keith and she isn't sure if he left yet. I did check around and didn't see him anywhere though. Are you guys ready to go to the Pueltown Harbor after some breakfast?" Wendy said.

"Hi Wendy, we're definitely ready to do so! Let's head to the cafeteria before Sven wonders where all of us are!" Luana said.

We all headed upstairs and went into the cafeteria, spotting Sven patiently sitting down which made Wendy tap him on the shoulder.

"Hello guys, good morning! Now that you're all here, let's get some breakfast quickly!" Sven said.

All of us went ahead and got our plates and trays, with Wendy and Sven getting three pancakes, a few Sitrus berries and a cup of water. Luana and I got an extra pancake each and then sat down with Wendy and Sven.

"Huh? You guys usually get more food for breakfast, are you two anxious to reach Hippowdon Ruins?" Sven said as we finished half of our food.

"Well, I would say that we are, none of us have ever been to the ruins but thanks to this map, we know how to traverse around. The good news is that Keith isn't up yet, so he might be awake in the next five minutes or an hour from now. Speaking of the map, did you two get a map for the ruins? We were able to get ours from Marcus but we didn't know if you guys got the map from him or Linda." I said.

"We did get a map from Linda last night, we can discuss what we can do on the boat!" Wendy said as Luana and I finished our food.

Wendy and Sven finished their breakfast a few minutes later and we took their plates and trays along with ours, heading out of the cafeteria afterwards.

"That's great! Let's go ahead and get our Pokémon from the Pokémon Training Room." I said as we all headed downstairs and then entered the door to the Pokémon Training Room.


	33. Chapter 33: Going to Hippowdon Ruins!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or the Ranger series.**

Chapter 33: Going to Hippowdon Ruins!

As we entered, our Pokémon were already awake while Ben was filing away some paperwork, upon seeing us, he gave us a big grin while our Pokémon circled around us happily.

"Hello guys! Are you going to have some fun today when you all explore Hippowdon Ruins and help Keith out?" Ben said as Betty was cleaning up the counter.

"Hi Ben, we certainly will, we'll be taking all of our Partner Pokémon with us. There was something I was wondering, can we have our Partner Pokémon assist Sven and Wendy as well? If that's possible, that would be great since we could end up getting separated which would lead to problems with any Pokémon or Team Dim Sun members." Luana said.

"Of course! Your Partner Pokémon can still assist Wendy and Sven and stay by their side even if they weren't captured by them. As long as a Partner Pokémon is with a Pokémon Ranger, then the two of them can work together without a problem! We'll help you two out with Chairperson Erma if she comes by here!" Betty said.

"Thanks guys, we really appreciate the help! We'll be taking our Pokémon with us now, since the boat leaves somewhat early. We'll be back late tonight, bye guys!" I said as we all left the room, with our Pokémon happily keeping a steady pace with us.

"This is going to be fun, let's head over to the Pueltown Harbor right away! If it's okay with you guys, can we have Raichu be with Wendy and me for this adventure? We still don't have any Partner Pokémon yet." Sven said as we headed out of the Ranger Union with Raichu happily nodding.

"Well, looks like Raichu would be happy with that! We'll have the remaining three with us. Thankfully, we'll have a head start on Keith, meaning we'll be able to stop any Team Dim Sun members that are there." I said.

The road to Pueltown didn't take long and we soon made our way to the port with all of us heading inside. Upon entering, we saw two captains, with one of them having a red hat and a red and white uniform, while another had a uniform in a similar way, except yellow instead of red.

"Hello there, I'm Captain Haruba and this is my friend Captain Boyle! Where are you Rangers heading today?" Captain Haruba said.

"Hi there, we'll be headed to Haruba Village today!" I said as we boarded the captain's boat.

The captain started the engine and eventually increased his speed towards as we made our way towards Haruba Village.

"Okay Rangers, we'll be reaching Haruba Village in about two hours, get comfortable!" Captain Haruba said as he went back into the cabin.

After we all got relaxed, I took the time to listen to the sound of the waves, while Luana joined me as we saw some Wingull and Pelipper flying around.

"If it wasn't for Keith, we wouldn't have been on our way to Haruba Village until Chairperson Erma needed us to get the Yellow Gem, though in a way, I'm glad Keith is heading to the Ruins, we wouldn't have been able to see this amazing view on the way there. While a Staraptor might have been a bit faster than a boat, we can simply use a few of them once we finish our mission." I said.

"That's a good point, this view really is nice, isn't it Wendy?" Sven said as Wendy nodded, the both of them looking at the open sea and how calm it is.

"Yes it is, I could just stay here all day! Luana, are you eager to go to Haruba Village?" Wendy said.

"I'm excited to be headed towards Haruba Village, though the first thing we have to do when we go there is to try helping Keith out as best as we can. Considering that Keith is most likely there before us already, we have to hurry to Hippowdon Ruins as soon as possible and make sure that Team Dim Sun isn't a threat to him, then after he gets the Yellow Gem, we'll see how my brother is doing. You guys would love to meet him, especially you, Kellyn!" Luana said as I blushed.

"That's right, it's frightening that Team Dim Sun is guaranteed to be there along with the Sinis Trio admin we haven't encountered yet. They've all been there trying to get the Red Gem and the Blue Gem and they'll be after the Yellow Gem too. On a more positive note, I'd be happy to meet your brother, aside from travelling, what other sort of things does he like?" I said as Sven and Wendy listened intently.

"Hmm, one of the things that Terry really loves to do is treating Pokémon whenever they're injured, especially water types. I remember before he went on his last trip, he said he wanted to become a tour guide and show people how beautiful Almia is." Luana said.

"A tour guide? Awesome! I think that would be something he would enjoy, especially with how much he travels, he probably knows everywhere in Almia by now!" I said as we all laughed.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he does! He's a great brother though, he always helped me out whenever I would get picked on." Luana said.

"Wow, you used to get picked on as a child? That's awful, I'm so sorry, Luana! It's a good thing that you had Terry to help you out whenever that happened." Wendy said.

"I know, I'm so glad my parents moved here after it continued to happen, though with how much they dislike my brother and I, it's something that I think is rather odd." Luana said.

"Your parents don't like Terry or you despite the fact that you two are their only children? If I may ask, is there any reason in particular that they feel that way about you two? After knowing you along with Kellyn, Wendy and I can certainly that you're awesome and we're fairly certain the same goes for your brother." Sven said.

"I'm not too certain if it's because of me or my brother when we were younger, or now, but our parents seemed to have a disdain for us for quite a while and it's something I really don't understand. It would make sense if Terry and I were disrespectful growing up, but from what I can remember, we were well behaved. Even if we weren't, that shouldn't be a reason for parents to hate their kids, even now." Luana said.

"Exactly, not liking your kids and not attempting to form a bond with them just leads to more problems. It's important to treat your kids with love." Wendy said.

"Attention Rangers, we're almost at Haruba Village and it looks like there's a serious sandstorm happening!" Captain Haruba said over the loudspeaker.

"Almost there? Have we been talking for that long? It's only …10:35 A.M.?!" I said.

"Yes we have, I'm glad we'll be able to reach Haruba Desert soon. Sven, Wendy, have you guys received any updates from Linda or Marcus regarding Keith leaving the Ranger Union or if he's still on the boat?" Luana said.

"Let's see, yup, Linda gave Sven and I notification! Linda told me that Keith's boat has run into some serious engine trouble, it looks like he'll be delayed for an hour or so. While I hope Keith's boat is fixed soon, I'm also glad that we're getting a head start compared to him." Wendy said.

"I'm just glad we'll be having a small advantage over Keith. Team Dim Sun seems to have gotten quite serious compared to when we last encountered them." Sven said.

"That's true, we'll be able to take out those Team Dim Sun members before Keith arrives. All we would need to make it easier is to get a Psychic type Pokémon so that the members can be interrogated at the Ranger Union once they're successful. Remember how we did that in the Chroma Ruins? We can try that when we encounter a large group of Team Dim Sun members!" I said.

"A Psychic type? That would be a great idea, I thought that was really clever of using a Kirlia to teleport those grunts away. There might be a similar Psychic type Pokémon inside the Ruins." Wendy said as Captain Haruba stepped out of the cabin.

"Hello there everyone, sorry to disturb all of you. We'll be headed towards Haruba Village in the next few minutes, make sure you don't leave anything behind. Thanks for being such great passengers!" Captain Haruba said.

"It was fun to view the beautiful ocean, thanks for having us Captain! We hope to see you around!" I said.

After a few minutes, we made our way to a large pier where Captain Haruba tied the boat so we wouldn't struggle with leaving. We all left the boat and were surprised by seeing how vicious this sandstorm was.

-Luana's POV-

_'__I know sandstorms are vicious, but I've never encountered a sandstorm this horrible whenever I've visited Haruba Village before.' _I thought to myself as we all struggled to see and kept all of our Pokémon protected.

As we continued from the boat to the road which led to Haruba Village, we spotted a woman quickly running towards us, which made Kellyn become tense.

"Don't worry Kellyn, you're safe, all of us are here to protect you." I said with my mouth muffled to prevent any sand from getting in as much as possible.

"Thanks Luana, I'm was just worried because of that imposter Rhythmi we encountered." Kellyn said as he relaxed.

_'__That makes sense, while this lady may not have any bad intentions, that impostor certainly wanted to…have fun with Kellyn. But don't you worry sweetheart, I'll do whatever I can to protect you.' _I thought to myself happily as the woman made her way to us.

"Hi there, welcome to Ha-" the woman attempted to say until she started to cough out some sand, which made her put her hand over her mouth.

"Are you okay?" I said as the woman nodded.

"Yes, I'm fine. My apologies, welcome to Haruba Village. This sandstorm has been happening for hours now and it doesn't seem like it'll stop anytime soon. Maybe you Rangers can do something to help us. Follow me please!" The woman said as we all headed up from the small road to higher ground that showed Haruba Village, being just like what I remembered with some small differences.

As we all looked around, the village changed quite a bit from previous visits, with several houses, a clinic, a school and a few restaurants. However, the main point of the village was the small lake near the center of it, which had a tall palm tree right next to it. Now though, the lake was only full halfway unlike every other time where it was completely filled up.

"Sorry Rangers, but I have to go help some people at the clinic. Best of luck with trying to stop this sandstorm!" The woman said as she walked away.

"Thanks, we'll see what we can do!" Wendy said.

"Ah, Rangers are here. Wonderful, come over here and see my new coffee maker!" A man said as we spotted a red machine in the distance by what appeared to be his food cart.

When we walked over to the man, some Hippowdon popped out from behind a few houses, sand being launched out of the holes on their backs. Just like other Pokémon being controlled, these Hippowdon were in serious pain. Kellyn's face immediately turned serious, soon followed by mine along with Wendy and Sven's as we saw that the machine was a Gigaremo emitting a loud distorted noise.

I was prepared to destroy the machine until Kellyn hoisted it up and walked a few feet from us, he took the Gigaremo and threw it against the rock wall, making it shatter into small pieces as the Hippowdon calmed down immediately.

At first, the man was scared that Kellyn destroyed his so-called coffee maker so quickly, but then he soon realized that it was actually a Gigaremo that he mistook for one, as his expression became surprised.

"R-rangers…was that machine…a Gigaremo?! I was causing those Hippowdon so much pain without realizing it!" The man said as he buried his head in his hands, though one of the Hippowdon gently nudged him.

"There's no need to be so hard on yourself, you just didn't know that was a Gigaremo. The Hippowdon forgive you too, so that's what matters! What's your name by the way?" Kellyn said as the same Hippowdon from before nudged him and all of the Hippowdon headed over to where the clinic was.

"That's…that's true, thank you. My name is Henry and I run this little food cart. Are all of you headed to Hippowdon Ruins? My son and I were talking about it the other day, there's supposedly a valuable treasure inside. It could be that's why I've seen weird people in black clothes go in and out of there for the past few days." Henry said.

"The past few days? Did these people in black clothes have a logo on the front of their shirt?" Wendy said.

"Yes, they definitely did, they haven't left with anything yet, so if there is treasure there, it seems they're not able to find it. If the four of you are headed there, be careful, I don't know what they're capable of!" Henry said.

"We'll be safe, also if you happen to see another Ranger come by later with some spiky orange hair, don't tell him you saw us please. Okay?" Sven said.

"Sure, that's not a problem at all. Good luck Rangers!" Henry said as we waved to him and headed down the path away from the village, walking towards Hippowdon Ruins.

"Great, now that we're on our way to Hippowdon Ruins, maybe we should find some Pokémon to help us along the way." Wendy said as we dodged some Skorupi hopping out of the ground and playfully chasing after us.

"Maybe these Skorupi will help, there's two of them, so let's capture them quick to fill up the Browser!" Kellyn said as he and Sven started to make loops around the Skorupi, dodging their Pin Missile every few seconds.

After making a few loops around the Skorupi, Kellyn captured his Skorupi followed by Sven. Both Skorupi were released once their data was registered, and we continued walking down a long pathway as Wendy gave Sven a pat on the back, which made him smile.

"That was a great capture Kellyn, awesome work!" I said as Kellyn blushed.

"Thanks Luana, it's a good thing those Skorupi weren't too dangerous, I would have been worried if they used Poison Sting!" Kellyn said.

"That's a good point, from what I've read, most Pokémon tend to not use poison type moves against humans except in rare instances, such as if they're threatened or feel like their homes are being invaded." Sven said as we spotted a large ledge with a vine hanging downwards.

"Wow, I figured that most Pokémon wouldn't harm us, they're just not used to seeing us so they tend to react instinctively. Let's see where this vine goes to." Kellyn said as he climbed the vine, while I eagerly followed him.

As we both made our way to the top, we noticed that the only thing on top of the ledge was…a cactus.  
"Hmm, Luana, this thing can't be a cactus, the arms of a cactus are pointed upwards, I've never seen a cactus with its arms pointed downwards." Kellyn said as he turned towards me.

Just as Kellyn turned around, the cactus started to move around slightly, revealing itself to be a Cacturne.

"Looks like you're right Kellyn, that's a Cacturne! Let's capture it!" I said as Kellyn quickly turned around to face the Cacturne.

The Cacturne noticed Kellyn making some loops around it, which made it retaliate by using Pin Missile, this made Kellyn immediately stop making loops around the Pokémon as he ran over to me and managed to deflect one of the pins aimed at me.

After making quite a few loops around the Cacturne while dodging its attacks, Kellyn managed to capture the Pokémon, registering it in our Browser. We both gave each other a high five and released the Cacturne, going down the vine as Sven and Wendy started cheering.

"Nice work you two, sounded like that Cacturne was really volatile. I wonder why." Wendy said.

"Maybe it sensed a disturbance in the Hippowdon Ruins. Do you two want to capture it to fill up your Browsers as well?" Kellyn said.

"Thank you for asking, but we're okay! We've been doing some training to try being as great as you guys and the Pokémon we capture, despite them being holograms, still fill up our Browsers!" Sven said.

"Wow, that's awesome! It's always good to improve yourselves, most of the area here is going to be straightforward until we reach the ruins. We can talk while we're going there if you guys would like, I would come here every so often when I was little and the Pokémon were always nice to me, though with how aggressive that Cacturne was, perhaps most of the Pokémon will attack us." I said as we all continued onwards.

As we continued walking, we encountered some Pokémon, such as a few Fearow and more Skorupi, though when they saw us, they came up to me as I gently patted their heads, with all of them happily continuing on their way.

"Phew, now that we know that the Pokémon here aren't hostile, we can talk a bit since we'll just be staring at sand otherwise." Kellyn said.

"Good idea, Sven and I have some questions for…Kellyn and Luana!" Wendy said.

"Questions for Kellyn and me? Sure, go ahead and ask away!" I said happily while Kellyn smiled at me.

"Excellent! First question is for…Kellyn! What would you do if you ended up being promoted to a Top Ranger and for some reason, Luana wasn't able to come along?" Sven said.

"That's a good first question! If I got promoted and Luana couldn't come to the Ranger Union, I would either demand that Luana continues being my partner and transfer her to the Ranger Union or ask to stay in Vientown." Kellyn said as my face felt hot.

"You would give up being a Top Ranger…for me?" I said.

"Of course I would, when I first saw you, it was love at first sight. I wouldn't have anyone else as my partner." Kellyn said as I hugged him tightly.

"T-thank you Kellyn, you're so wonderful." I said happily.

"What a wonderful answer from Kellyn! I have a question for Luana! What would you do if one day, Kellyn woke up and he wasn't able to walk? To add to the question, what would you do if Kellyn would be able to walk one day but only after lots of physical therapy?" Wendy said.

"I would carry him everywhere and stay by his side, in the event that he eventually recovers and would be able to walk again, I would help him every single day with his physical therapy if needed. It's like when I had amnesia, Kellyn stayed by my side and helped me recover the entire time." I said as Kellyn gave me a hug.

"I'll be more than happy to protect you and make sure you recover, no matter how long it takes." Kellyn said as I once again felt my face heat up.

"Ooooh, that's absolutely adorable! I got one quick question since we're about to reach the ruins. If you could describe what you thought of the other person in one word from the first time you saw them, what would it be?" Sven said.

Kellyn and I looked at each other for a moment, thinking of what endearing word would fit us best. After a few more moments of thinking, we both smiled at each other as the word came to our minds.

"The word that comes to mind is mesmerized." Kellyn and I said simultaneously.

"Wow…you two are completely in sync, even more than me and Sven!" Wendy said as we saw the Hippowdon Ruins looming over us.


	34. Chapter 34: Hippowdon Ruins: Part One

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

Chapter 34: Hippowdon Ruins: Part One

While it didn't feel or look intimidating, another factor is that I never actually entered here as a child, I only played around the outside and didn't go near the Ruins itself. As we proceeded to get closer to the Ruins, I made note of the large hole where the Hippowdon's mouth was. Just then, a slight sandstorm started to brew which made us shield our eyes since this one seemed to be spread over a smaller area compared to the one in Haruba Village.

"W-what's causing this sandstorm?" Wendy said in surprise.

"I…I think I see the reason, it's that Hippowdon over there, the one with twisters protecting most of its body!" Kellyn said as Wendy and Sven looked to where he was pointing.

About twenty feet down was a Hippowdon along with a Dodrio, with the three headed Pokémon huddled in a corner, trying to avoid being hit as much as possible. The Hippowdon didn't appear to be in pain, but it's entirely possible that it was agitated just like the Cacturne previously. Team Dim Sun was at the Ruins and the Pokémon knew that they were after the Yellow Gem.

I noticed a staircase leading to the area where the Hippowdon was and all of us went over, heading down the area. The Dodrio noticed us and slowly walked over, hesitantly looking at us to see if we were friendly, once it determined we were, it hopped backwards and allowed one of us to capture it.

"You got it Kellyn, once you hop on the Dodrio, be extra cautious of that Hippowdon, it might use Earthquake, so be careful." I said as Kellyn swiftly captured the Dodrio, hopping on it and heading over to the Hippowdon.

We all attempted to run over to where Kellyn was in case he got hurt, but weren't able to do so at all because of the terrain, which was rocky and was hard to walk in. I observed Kellyn capturing the Hippowdon, with the Pokémon using Magnitude and Mud Bomb, which thankfully didn't affect the Dodrio or Kellyn because of how swift the Pokémon was, though it did make us unsteady for a while. After Kellyn avoided the Hippowdon's Mud Bomb again, he was able to successfully capture it which made the sandstorm disappear as we all cheered for Kellyn as he came back on the Dodrio, with the Hippowdon much more relaxed compared to before.

"Let's head back up to the Ruins entrance, this Hippowdon can fill that hole in with sand!" Kellyn said as we all went back to the entrance.

"I wonder what sort of Pokémon we'll be facing, I know that they'll be dangerous but…I just hope they're not too aggressive." Wendy said as Kellyn went up to the entrance with the Hippowdon, having it fill the entrance with sand and mud.

"Thanks for your help Dodrio and Hippowdon! Now that we've gained access to the Ruins, let's stop Team Dim Sun before they try hurting Keith!" Kellyn said as he released the two Pokémon.

Once we all headed inside, we were greeted by a large platform that was the color of sand, while there were some gray rock walls scattered throughout the area. On both sides, there was sand coming down at a decent rate of speed, that wasn't the concern though…it was the Golems that were here. While the two of them didn't notice us yet, we knew we had to be quiet, since I've seen their tackles when they charge at people and it usually resulted in broken bones or death.

I was going to suggest to everyone that we could simply avoid them but then another problem is that Keith would eventually be coming here and these Golem would be more than happy to charge at him.

"Sven, Wendy, can you guys have five Friend Pokémon at once? We have to capture these Golem, their tackles can be devastating. The only problem is that our Pokémon won't have much effect on them, especially Vulpix and Raichu. What we could do is lure one of them and capture it, it'll probably use Rock Throw, which will be dangerous." I whispered.

"Yes, we can have five of them! I'll try luring one to us!" Sven said as he got a Golem's attention.

The Pokémon reached one of the rock walls as Sven quickly made loops around the Pokémon, as it attempted to use Rock Throw and Rollout. The Golem started to roll and Sven dodged it as it crashed into the wall, Sven continued making loops around the stunned Pokémon and captured it.

"Nice job, Luana, do you want to capture the other one?" Kellyn said as the Golem calmly went over to us.

"I'll go ahead and do that, I'm glad that there aren't more Golems by the entrance!" I said as I went over to the other Golem that was all the way by the door leading to the next room.

The second Golem noticed me and immediately tried throwing a large boulder at me, which I dodged as it hit the rock wall I was hiding behind, chipping a small piece of it as the boulder went into the sand stream. I made loops around the Golem as it started to use Rollout, though I captured it before it was able to actually start rolling. I was happy to see its data registered in both me and Kellyn's Browsers as I petted the Golem on its head.

"Guys, I got the Golem, let's continue onwards and be careful!" I said as everyone went into the next room, with the Golems walking in after Sven and Wendy.

The next room was…strange, it was a long and narrow hallway with what appeared to be Bronzors throughout one end of it, though without the eyes. I figured that such a contrast was very out of place for ruins and cautiously went up to one of them. As I suspected, the pattern really was a Bronzor, which flipped around, revealing its yellow eyes as the Pokémon slowly chased after me. Taking this opportunity, I started making loops around the Pokémon, the Bronzor launched a floating iron ball at me, which made its way towards me extremely slowly. I was able to capture it quickly, which made the attack quickly dissipate as the Pokémon got registered in the Browser.

"Great work Luana, let's run through this area as quick as we can, how do you think Murph, Linda and the others are doing by distracting Chairperson Erma?" Kellyn said as the Bronzor went to Kellyn's jacket.

"I think they're doing a wonderful job, I'm happy that all of them understood our concerns to help Keith out! Looks like that Bronzor likes you!" I said Kellyn chuckled, we then ran down the hallway, avoiding all the other Bronzor that popped out of their hiding spots.

Considering how friendly the Golem were the entire time, we decided to release them as they happily walked back to the entrance. As we made our way to the end of the hallway, I noticed a door to our right leading to the next room, while to our left was a large stone slab next to a gigantic hole, which had a rectangular shape with stone surrounding it. Kellyn and I cautiously peered into the opening and were worried when we weren't able to see the bottom, as we looked up, we could see another hole with the same shape.

Sven and Wendy made their way over to us and also examined the opening, finding it odd that this would be here. We all turned around to look for any other Pokémon in the area, but we only saw the Bronzor, Kellyn noticed the stone slab and got close to it while Sven and Wendy examined the opening for anything strange.

"Wow…this is weird, let me see what this stone slab says…it…it's too faded to read! Maybe one of you might be able to see what it says better than me?" Kellyn said as we all examined the stone slab, however, most of it was faded and the letters that weren't faded were too weathered by time to be properly read.

"I can't see what it says either, it's okay, we can always ask around here and see if anyone knows. Maybe it's tied to a legendary Pokémon or the Yellow Gem!" Sven said as we all nodded and headed into the next room.

Upon entering the next room, we found it to be rather large, with the layout appearing to be a maze with tiles in several different directions.

"Wow…let me check the map for this…interesting room. Okay, so this area has two doors and has three different paths we can end up in. Let me call Marcus and see if he has an idea of which room to go to, since he has an idea of every room on the floor that we're currently on." Kellyn said as he was about to call Marcus, though he got a call right as he was checking through his Styler.

"Hi guys, I hope you're all doing well. Don't worry, Rhythmi and the Chairperson aren't here at the moment, Ben and Betty are currently distracting her and how more food and medicinal supplies are needed for the Ranger Union and the Training Room." Marcus said.

"Sounds great Marcus, I'm glad that everyone is helping us out. I called because we were wondering if you would tell us which room leads deeper into the Ruins and what the other room leads to?" Kellyn said.

"Sure, no problem! The room to your right leads to an area with a Drifblim and an opening to the second floor and the room on the left is barren, there aren't any Pokémon there. For some reason, the center of the room that all of you are in seems to have what appears to be hardened quicksand. I'm not too certain why it's there but I hope I helped in some way!" Marcus said.

"You certainly did Marcus, thanks for the help! We'll ask you for help again once we continue advancing on the floors and find ourselves stuck." Kellyn said.

"Ah, Kellyn, there's another thing I forgot to mention that's very important, Keith is currently on the open sea heading towards Haruba Village, I'll try getting someone to stall him there somehow." Marcus said.

"Thank you Marcus, do whatever you can to stall him, we're not too far into the Ruins but we don't see any sign of Team Dim Sun, though knowing them, they're just around the corner. Bye!" Kellyn said as he hanged up.

"Okay, thanks to Marcus's help, we know which door to head to. The only issue is making sure we take the right route. I'll head through first and then let you guys know if it's the right path or not!" I said as I stepped on the tile.

The second I stepped on it, I found myself slowly going in the directions indicated on the floor. I was happy that it wasn't going too fast considering a wall was coming up, it was similar to a conveyor belt in terms of speed. After I went in the direction of the tile to wherever it was taking me, I noticed that I was in the center where the hardened quicksand was, with Kellyn, Sven and Wendy being behind me after I let them know it was okay to come through, since there weren't any Pokémon here and there were four different paths to go through.

"Nice, that wasn't too bad, I can see the door Marcus mentioned over there. It's a good thing we know it's the door on the right and didn't end up going through the other door. I wonder what's up with this hardened quicksand though." Wendy said as she examined the quicksand.

"It'll probably be useful later, something like this is so out of place that it must have some importance. I'll lead the way this time, it looks like the tile heading north is going to bring us to where we have to go." Kellyn said with a smile as he stepped on the tile.

I hastily followed after Kellyn with Sven and Wendy close behind me, with the tiles taking us seemingly all around the room. As we continued for what felt like a few minutes, we eventually met up with Kellyn who was patiently waiting for us by the door.

"Awesome, now that we're here, let's head through that door and catch that Drifblim!" Sven said as we entered the next room.

Upon going into the room, we noticed that it was unusually dark, almost to the point where we couldn't see anything.

"Pachirisu, use Flash!" Kellyn shouted as Pachirisu lit up the room.

The room itself was small and consisted of a few destroyed blocks of stone along with a Drifblim lazily floating around, along with an opening at the top, just like Marcus said. Aside from that, the room was strangely barren.

Kellyn immediately ran over to the Drifblim and started making loops around it, capturing it within a minute as the Pokémon simply hovered, not wanting to unleash any moves at us.

"Good idea having Pachirisu use Flash on this room. Buneary, can you use Bounce and check if there are any Pokémon up there that might attack us? You're fast enough to get out the way, but we might not be able to." I said as Buneary sprang up and entered the opening.

After a minute of looking around, Buneary hopped back down, shaking her head as an indication that no Pokémon were in the room that might ambush us.

"Great, looks like we're ready to go! I'll head up there first!" Wendy said as Drifblim took her up, followed by Wendy.

"Go ahead Luana, you can go first!" Kellyn said in an even more sweet tone than usual, causing my heart to skip a beat.

"T-thanks Kellyn, hopefully the next floor isn't too dangerous, maybe it'll be like this floor." I said with a smile as the Drifblim carried me up, with Kellyn coming up a less than a minute later.

The Drifblim slowly floated back down as we headed out of the small room and noticed that while the new room we were in was large, it was also dangerous as it was swarming with a dozen Team Dim Sun grunts and admins everywhere. Thankfully, none of the Team Dim Sun members noticed us yet, but it was still concerning for us to wonder what the best option would be. However, right as we were going to order our Pokémon to distract the Team Dim Sun members, which was our only real option, we noticed a short man with a yellow vest and yellow hair come into the room.

"Okay everyone, we have to go to the bottom of these Ruins. We'll find that Yellow Gem at all costs, but be careful, there might be Rangers coming to get it first." The man said.

"But Mr. Heath sir, what do we do with the Yellow Gem once we get it?" A Team Dim Sun admin said.

"All I know is we have to transport it back to the boss once we defeat the Pokémon guarding it. These Ruins get more complicated as we get further down, so we have to be careful. Let's move out!" Heath said as all the members exited the room, leaving just us there.

"It's a good thing that they all left, I don't think we could take all of them, even with your Partner Pokémon all attacking at once. I see another door over there on the left, let's head there in case anyone decides to come back!" Sven said as we all went through the door, finding a small opening in the ground that dark, making it hard to see how deep the fall would be.

"Let's see where this leads, Pachirisu, use Flash!" Kellyn said as Pachirisu did so, lighting up the opening which revealed a seven foot drop leading into a room.

We all jumped down the opening and found ourselves in a small room that was completely barren, heading through the door, we saw a room different from all the other areas we've encountered, with there being a large platform followed by a series of steps leading downwards, with markings of some kind being on both sides. As I attempted to look downwards, I was surprised at the fact that I couldn't even see the bottom as about ten steps down, the rest of the staircase was dark and felt ominous.

"Wow…this place is full of surprises. First the Bronzor, then the arrows which would take us in different directions…now this? I heard that this place was dangerous, but I never expected something so…odd." I said as everyone tried looking for torches to light.

"Pachirisu, can you please use Flash once more? Maybe you can light up this darkness? It's about as dark as the night." Kellyn said as Pachirisu used Flash, though it had no effect and the staircase remained dark as if no move was used at all.

"Hmm, Vulpix, try using Flamethrower and see if anything happens!" Wendy said as Vulpix jumped out of her arms and fired up a Flamethrower, though the actual heat was intense, the darkness remained the same as it seemingly absorbed the fire.

"Er…Kellyn, can we take another route?" Sven said.

"Unfortunately not, the only other route from what we can see is where Heath and those other goons went. It's possible that heading down these steps or to where they went to could be an ambush but at the same time, we can't go anywhere else." Kellyn said.

"That's a good point, looks like we'll just have to proceed slowly down these stairs, I'd rather not see Heath or his lackeys anytime soon. The map is acting up really weird too and considering how the staircase has been unable to brighten up at all, the staircase must be the reason too." Sven said as we all started walking down the stairs.

We tried having Raichu and Pachirisu use their electricity to try making the place brighter, but it still did nothing, even when we got Vulpix to use Ember, so we simply had them rest. As we walked down a few more steps, we reached the eerie darkness and right as we did so, the stairs retracted into a ramp as we all lost our footing and started making our way through the darkness.

We started to scream at this point, not knowing where this would take us, it could lead us to another room, or end up killing us. I started to panic and firmly grabbed on to Kellyn while he did the same with me, both of us holding our Pokémon close to us.

After what felt like hours of going through the darkness, though it was most likely only a couple of minutes, we eventually stopped falling and we all ended up tumbling out on the floor.  
"We…we made it. That was one of the most terrifying things I've ever experienced. It's different compared to mind-controlled Pokémon attacking us, at least we would be able to do our best to dodge their attacks, that staircase…we had no idea what would have happened by going down it." Kellyn said.

"That's true, now that we're all safe, let's continue onwards, hopefully there isn't anything as scary in these Ruins." Sven said as we were about to head out of the room, though Kellyn's Styler started to ring, indicating he received a Voicemail as he picked up.

"Hi Kellyn, it's Linda, Marcus and I both received some information…it appears that Keith is at the entrance to Hippowdon Ruins right now." Linda said.

"What?! We already encountered Team Dim Sun here with an admin named Heath. There were at least a dozen grunts and admins with Heath, we took an alternate path to avoid them because there wasn't any way we could face them. What do we do? Keith is going to be in danger!" Kellyn said.

"Hmm, the only thing that comes to mind is if we get someone to create a diversion and lure Team Dim Sun out. There might be more of them but if the diversion is big enough, it might make even Heath move away from where Keith is, considering that Team Dim Sun probably does patrol of the area." Linda said.

"What if we had Vulpix distract them and then have Buneary use Bounce on them?" Sven said.

"I don't know, I wouldn't want us to put the Partner Pokémon in harm's way. Plus, knowing Team Dim Sun, there might be dozens more in the Ruins searching for the Yellow Gem. The issue is that we don't know if Keith is going to head down the path that leads to where we are, or if he'll head to the room that Heath and the others went to…I got an idea! Linda, can you convince Keith to come down this path so that he'll stay out of harm's way?" Kellyn said.

"I can do that, let me give him a call really quick." Linda said as she hanged up.

"Talk about a nerve-racking situation, it's not an issue if Keith sees us, but what Team Dim Sun might do to him. With how many of them were in Chroma Ruins, they're definitely getting more serious compared to before." Wendy said as we nodded in agreement.

Kellyn's Styler started to ring once more as he picked up.

"Hi Kellyn, it's Marcus! I went ahead and informed Keith of the situation with Team Dim Sun. He came back with a Kadabra and he's currently at the same section with the tiles. Keith says that he'll just teleport to the right door since he hates puzzles." Marcus said.

"He's going to teleport? Sounds we have to get moving then, is there anything else Marcus?" Kellyn said.

"Nope, that's it! Good luck guys, be careful!" Marcus said as he ended the call.

Afterwards, we headed out the door and stepped into the next room, with the room itself having multiple cannons in different directions as they shot what appeared to be balls of clay and sand along with some of the floor being damaged, leading to holes in the ground.

"Wow, this place just keeps getting more and more strange. I'll go through first." Kellyn said as took a step forward, as he did so, a cannon came out of the wall and shot a ball directly at him, which he quickly dodged by jumping backwards.

"Are you okay?! As cautious as you were…that cannon just appeared out of nowhere. How can we even proceed onwards?" Sven said as more cannons continued to fire farther down the room.

"That's true, that first cannon was completely unexpected. But I'm looking at all of them and I noticed how only the first cannon can shoot all the way across the room, being able to continuously go straight while all the other ones go straight for a brief time and then fall on the ground. Let me try once more." Kellyn said as he did just that.

I couldn't help but feel myself start to panic as Kellyn dodged the first cannon and continued with the other ones as he reached halfway and had to slide down some fast-moving sand to avoid two more projectiles headed towards him. Though Kellyn's extremely stealthy, I continued to worry about his safety even though he was able to get through to where the door at the room was with little effort.

"Wow…Kellyn that was awesome! You had me a bit worried for a minute there, let me head on over!" I said as I repeated the same steps as Kellyn.

The cannons were something that bothered me at first, especially because we were worried about what would happen if we fell down one of the holes in the ground, which were everywhere. Though I imagine that it would be like at that one section of Almia Castle, where there were holes that lead to a long drop to the ground.

After I made my way to Kellyn, Sven followed afterwards, reaching the area we were at with no trouble, while Wendy did the same minutes later.

"Doesn't seem so daunting now that we've done it, but it certainly was scary when we first saw it." Wendy said.

"That's true, now that we're done with this insane room, let's continue onwards." Kellyn said.

"We might be done with this room but I can only imagine that this is just the beginning of what this place has in store for us." Sven said as we went through the door.

When we entered the next room, we all saw some springy leaves all around the room and wondered where exactly they would take us within the room. I looked around and spotted a door to our right and a door at the very end of the room. I glanced over at Kellyn and noticed how confused he looked, noticing that the map was static, nothing would display except for the name of the area. When I did the same with mine, it was the exact same thing, with there being no layout of the room.

"Uh…what's going on with the Styler? Are those idiots from Team Dim Sun disrupting it in some way? Sven, Wendy, are you two having problems with the map layout? Luana and I aren't able to get any layout of the area." Kellyn said as he attempted to call Marcus, hoping he would pick up.

"Our Stylers are acting up too, maybe Team Dim Sun really is messing with our Stylers somehow." Sven said as Marcus picked up.

"Kellyn, it seems that the four of you are deep within the Ruins. Your Stylers should still work so I'm not sure why the map layouts are malfunctioning. I was able to get a hold of the explorer who made the map layout, he said not to go to the room on your right and to go to the room at the end. If you guys go to the room on the right, you'll all fall down a hole upon immediate entry and end up back at the entrance of Hippowdon Ruins. Keith is also a few rooms away from you guys. He called Linda since he was frustrated about cautiously falling in the same area with a few cannons, he ends up in some secluded room that contains a couple of Golem which chase him, though he claims they've calmed down compared to before. The Yellow Gem is located maybe three to four rooms after you guys make your way to the end of the room." Marcus said.

"Thanks Marcus, that information is very helpful. Do you happen to know the reason our maps are acting up? It's so weird that they're giving us so much trouble when they were just fine beforehand." I said.

"Unfortunately, I don't have any idea why your maps are acting so strange, they didn't act like this when you guys were near the Blue Gem. Aside from that, you guys are good to go!" Marcus said.

"Thanks for the help Marcus, we'll let you know if anything comes up. Bye!" Kellyn said.

"No problem, glad I could help. When the Yellow Gem is safe at the Ranger Union, Vatona, Nage and Professor Hastings are going to develop a way to counteract the Shadow Crystal. Bye everyone, stay safe!" Marcus said as he ended the Voicemail.

"Hmm, we may not know why the maps are acting strange, but at least we know the correct door to take!" Wendy said.

"That's true, it would have been horrible if we went into the room on the right and then had to traverse all the way through these Ruins again. Let's go!" Kellyn said as he jumped on the springy plant, with all of us immediately going after him.

When we went to the next part of the room, we noticed two springy plants and wondered which one would be the correct one to take. Just as we were contemplating which one to go on, an Ariados slowly made its way over to us after it came down from its web.


	35. Chapter 35: Hippowdon Ruins: Part Two

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

Chapter 36: Hippowdon Ruins: Part Two

When it landed on the ground, it tried lunging at us immediately, with Kellyn and I barely able to dodge it, though it ended up on the springy plant, getting launched to the other side of the room where the right door was. Seeing how it was stuck, the Ariados started making its web which made all of us go on the other springy plant, reaching closer to the correct door.

"Well…at least we know which springy plant was the wrong one." Wendy said as she jumped on the next springy plant, heading to a small area that contained another one nearby, though she started to shiver when she reached the secluded area.

All of us headed over to her and I concluded that either a Haunter or a Gengar was nearby since those are the only Ghost types that can make a person shiver aside from a Froslass. When we all reached up with Wendy, we all started to shiver as well when I felt something tap on my shoulder. Thinking it was Kellyn, I turned around only to come face to face with a Gengar, I jumped upon seeing it, which made the Pokémon start to laugh alongside a Gardevoir that teleported right next to it.

"Pachirisu, use Thunder Wave!" Kellyn said as Pachirisu paralyzed both Pokémon, making the two of them a quick capture for me as Gardevoir was registered in our Browser.

"Awesome, now that we have a Gengar and a Gardevoir, maybe it can tell us which of these springy leaves are the correct one to take. I see the next area over there has five springy leaves. Since it lives here, it must play on them often and know which one is the right one." I said as the Gengar happily nodded while the Gardevoir simply followed.

We all went over to the same area with the five springy leaves and the Gengar showed us that the second leaf on our left was the correct one. I wasn't too sure of it so I moved the Gengar on the leaf, which made it get launched to the door we had to enter as the Gardevoir giggled at its friend. Feeling more relaxed, I went ahead first, followed by Kellyn, Wendy and Sven. After we made our way through this interesting room, we then headed through the door.

As we entered this next room, we saw some steps leading upwards and headed up them slowly, worried another trap would happen. When we made our way to the top, there were two unlit torches on the sides of the door.

"Vulpix, can you light up these torches for us?" Kellyn said as Vulpix used Ember on the torches, lighting them up and making the door open which led outside.

"Wow, the view from up here is amazing!" Wendy said as she observed the area from the top of the Hippowdon Ruins, which showed Haruba Village from here.

"It is a rather nice view, we're only a few more rooms from the Yellow Gem! Let's hurry before Keith gets here!" Sven said as we went to the other side of the Hippowdon where its nostril was.

When we got close to it, an elevator popped up and we quickly headed inside. Upon entering this room, I first noticed the strange Hippopatas statues along the entire wall which weren't shown anywhere else in the Ruins. Aside from the odd statues, the room itself was simply a long hallway that continued on for a while.

"Hmmm, these statues look very out of place. Gengar, Gardevoir, have either of you seen these statues before?" Kellyn said as both Pokémon shook their heads.

"Team Dim Sun had to have set these up, maybe we could have them try breaking the statues!" Wendy said as Kellyn ordered both Pokémon to use their moves against the first statue which had no effect.

"Gardevoir, try to teleport this statue away!" Kellyn said as Gardevoir did so, though the statue didn't budge at all.

"Wow…it's scary how these statues are Pokémon proof… Team Dim Sun is even more desperate to get the Yellow Gem than I thought. The only way to get through this room is to get past these statues, there's eight of them so we'll have to be as quick as we can." I said as I attempted to go over the statue.

However, an alarm sounded as we heard the wall to our right open up, with a Team Dim Sun grunt headed right for us as a gate crashed down past the second Hippowdon statue, preventing our escape.

"Hah?! Rangers?! I knew that you would be coming here. Time to face my Pokémon!" The grunt said as we saw a group of Hippopatas lumbering towards us.

The Pokémon attempted to attack us with Mud Bomb and Rock Tomb, which we were able to dodge easily thanks to their speed. After making some loops around the HIppopatas, we each caught a Hippopatas, freeing them from being mind-controlled as the grunt ran back through the open wall, with the Pokémon angrily chasing after him as the wall closed back and the gate retracting back into the ceiling.

"That wasn't so bad, let's still be prepared for the other grunts if the statues follow this pattern." Wendy said.

"Yeah, that would be a good idea. I was thinking of having Vulpix destroy the fence but I'm not too sure, I feel that with how enclosed the space is and how the grunts would be so close to us, it would be more dangerous than anything especially since the statues themselves are Pokémon proof." I said as we went past the second statue and activated the third statue's alarm, making the gate by the fourth statue close down as a grunt came out from the same opening.

"Vulpix, try using Flamethrower on this gate!" Kellyn said as Vulpix used Flamethrower.

Even after a few seconds of intense heat which would destroy most metal and wood, nothing happened to the gate, not even getting singed.

"Hahahah, nice try Rangers! Time to face my Pokémon next!" The grunt said as he typed on his Miniremo with a few Spinarak and an Ariados dropping down from the ceiling.

"Gah! B-bug types terrify me! S-Sven, do something!" Wendy said as she shuddered.

Sven stepped forward and made loops around the Ariados, capturing it after a while as Kellyn and I were able to capture the Spinarak, with Gengar and Gardevoir levitating the Pokémon. As the Pokémon were released, the grunt quickly ran back to the same wall as before while the gate retracted into the ceiling.

"Nice work team, that was fun! Thanks for the help Gengar and Gardevoir!" Kellyn said as the Pokémon jumped up happily.

As we walked past the fourth and fifth statue, we were surprised no alarm went off but considered it a good thing since fighting those grunts can tire us out before getting to the Guardian.

"Looks like Team Dim Sun still doesn't know how to use some of their equipment!" I said as we all shared a laugh.

We made our way to the sixth statue where the alarm went off, the seventh statue's gate came crashing down as a Team Dim Sun admin came out of the wall's opening.

"Heheh, Rangers huh? Time to make sure that you guys don't get to our boss…" The admin said as he started typing on his Miniremo.

Soon afterwards, we heard a low rumble as some Graveler rolled out of the opening. The three Pokémon tried attacking us with Rock Throw, with the move barely missing us, hitting the gate instead. Since the Pokémon had to gather some more rocks, we took this as an opportunity to attack.

"Buneary, use Hi Jump Kick on them!" I said as Buneary sprang up and hit the middle Graveler, making it roll into the other two.

We quickly made loops around the Pokémon as the admin increasingly got more angry. After a few more loops, the Pokémon were captured, disorientated from Buneary's attack as they broke free from mind-control.

"You…you Rangers won…for now. The boss will take of you four…" The admin said as he glared at us, running back to the opening, which closed once more as we all ran to the door at the end.

After the admin fled, we went through the door and headed down a long staircase, eventually making our way to the next room which was by far one of the strangest rooms we've encountered. The room itself had stone platforms in certain areas, such as the entrance and exit to the room and in the center, but the rest of the room consisted of floating platforms, some of which would move back and forth, while others would appear and then quickly disappear.

"Here I was thinking the next room would be easier! Let me try getting across!" Wendy said as she made her way around the room, with the Gardevoir teleporting alongside her in case she ended up falling.

Wendy had some trouble getting across the room at first, nearly falling off once or twice, though Gardevoir helped her out as we watched. Afterwards, Sven followed what she did and made it over, while Kellyn and I headed over to them. The room itself wasn't too bad once we observed the way some of the small platforms disappeared and moved around.

"Wow, that was insane, the Ruins have just been one surprise after another…should we let Marcus know about our progress?" Sven said.

"I think we should, we'll ask him where Keith is while we're at it." Kellyn said as he called Marcus who picked up almost right away.

"Hi Kellyn, I was actually about to call you…something odd is happening. For some reason, Keith's location is actually ahead of you guys, but Linda and I are the only ones monitoring what's happening and unless there's a hidden shortcut in the Ruins, there's no way Keith could have gotten ahead of you guys!" Marcus said in a panic.

"Knowing these Ruins after being in here for only a few hours, there are probably several different shortcuts. Keith could have unknowingly taken one of them and ended up in a room quicker than we could manage. There were some Team Dim Sun grunts around…which means Keith is in danger! Marcus, we have to go, we'll keep you updated on the situation as best as we can!" Kellyn said as he ended the call and we all opened the door, running down a long stairway as we saw a large door at the very end.

When we opened the door and entered the next room, we noticed how small it was, with the only thing of interest being a small opening where I couldn't see the ground when I looked into it. The only thing I noticed were springy plants, some being on the left and some on the right along the way down.

"This opening is strange, especially with those springy plants. Gardevoir, Gengar, can the two of you see if the ground at the very bottom of this pit is going to be a safe landing and that no hostile Pokémon or enemies are going to be waiting for us?" I said as the Pokémon nodded and teleported, coming back up after a few seconds, shaking their heads to confirm it was safe.

"Since it's safe, there's no time to lose! Let's go!" Kellyn said as he looked at the first springy plant, heading towards it while he got launched onto each one on a lower level.

I went ahead and immediately followed Kellyn, with Sven and Wendy right behind me as we all screamed from how fast we were falling. After falling for a few minutes, I quickly saw a flash of what appeared to be the same area with the Bronzor, as I noticed one of them near the opening we saw earlier. We continued to fall, bouncing from plant to plant until we eventually reached the ground, with the Gardevoir and Gengar being right in front of us.

We all took a moment to look around the room and saw how vastly different it was from the rest of the ruins, with there being grass all around the circular room along with a sturdy looking stone bridge and some water underneath, looking similar to an oasis of sorts.

"This room is…beautiful, we can admire it later though, let's go and see where Keith is and help him get that Yellow Gem!" Wendy said.

"Speaking of Keith, Marcus said he was ahead of us but I don't see him anywhere around here. Gardevoir, can you try detecting where Keith is?" Sven said as Gardevoir closed its eyes and started to hover, after a few seconds, it stopped and opened its eyes, shaking its head.

"Nothing at all…if Gardevoir can't detect Keith, Heath or some other Team Dim Sun goon had to have put something on him that was Psychic proof so that we can't locate him. Similar to how we couldn't destroy those statues." Kellyn said.

That's a good point…maybe he's in the actual room where the Yellow Gem is." I said as Kellyn and I went into the Guardian's room while Sven and Wendy looked around for Keith.

We first had some trouble looking for Keith as we weren't sure exactly where he was, however, we noticed him on his side in the left hand corner of the room, with the Yellow Gem still being on its pedestal.

"Hey guys, we need your help right away! Keith is hurt bad!" Kellyn shouted as Sven and Wendy ran inside the room, with our Friend and Partner Pokémon following them.

We all went over to Keith as Kellyn gently nudged him in an attempt to wake him up, after multiple attempts of doing so, Keith started to stir awake.

"What…what happened? Kellyn, Luana, Sven and Wendy? You're all here? I'm so glad…" Keith said as he sat up.

"We don't know what happened to you, we just arrived in this room and saw you lying there. Do you recall anything that happened?" Wendy said as Keith started rubbing the back of his head.

"Ah…I encountered Team Dim Sun near the entrance and I was extremely confused as to why they were even here to begin with. I was by this eerie dark staircase…and Buizel's attacks couldn't even do anything to penetrate the darkness, then I saw some guy with weird yellow hair at the bottom of the staircase after I finished sliding down it. Before I knew it, he attacked me and when I woke up, my Fine Styler was gone! I don't even know how I ended up in the Guardian's room, because I know I didn't reach here on my own." Keith said as he put his head in his hands.

"Keith, don't blame yourself, Hippowdon Ruins is full of traps and dangers. We only saw the guy with yellow hair once but we'll try our best to get your Fine Styler back." Kellyn said as Keith perked up.

"Thanks Kellyn, I am curious though, how come you guys are in the Ruins? I know that Chairperson Erma had me go alone because she said I proved myself as a capable Top Ranger in Fiore, but I don't know why she didn't have all four of you go in the first place, it would have been much easier." Keith said.

"We were worried about your safety when we found out about the Ruins in more detail. I'm not too sure why Chairperson Erma sent you to the Ruins by yourself, but there's always the possibility she wasn't informed of the dangers lurking there. She knew that Team Dim Sun would be at the Ruins since it's the only Gem we didn't have yet, but there's no way she knew of the traps considering that the explorer was only told to make a layout of the Ruins." I said.

"Yeah, that's true, she wouldn't put anyone's life in danger. You guys can go ahead and get the Yellow Gem, the four of you came all this way. Besides, I don't have my Styler, so I'm unable to battle the Guardian anyway." Keith said as we heard a loud rumble.

As we all ran outside, we saw that a large hole had been made, destroying a chunk of the ceiling as small pieces of stone fell to the ground, making me shudder slightly from remembering what happened in the Chroma Ruins. Afterwards, we heard a helicopter and saw it going through the hole in the ceiling, turning sideways as a door opened, revealing Heath with a sinister grin on his face.

"Looks like you've met Keith, it's time to defeat you Rangers and then I'll take the Yellow Gem from that pitiful Guardian!" Heath said as the helicopter hovered above us.

Heath took out a Miniremo and started typing, after a few moments, we saw a Magnezone making its way towards us as it quickly tried firing off a Discharge, nearly hitting Heath's helicopter. Kellyn took this opportunity to have Vulpix attack the Magnezone with Flamethrower, severely damaging the Pokémon and making it tired so it wouldn't attack as much.

"Stupid Pokémon, attack them, not me and learn to dodge their attacks!" Heath said as the Magnezone moved closer to us.

Kellyn made several loops around the Magnezone, doing his best to avoid its electrical orbs, my Styler showing that Magnezone's friendship meter was already halfway full, thanks to Vulpix's attack making it not able to attack as much or as ferociously. The Pokémon was getting frustrated as it fired a Thunderbolt at Kellyn, not coming close to hitting him, but still enough to make me worry.

"Luana, take over for me please!" Kellyn said as I started to make loops around the Pokémon, glad that I was helping Kellyn out in some way as he took a quick breather.

I continued to make several loops around the Magnezone, avoiding it's Discharge and Thunderbolts as best as I can while Kellyn and I kept alternating, with Sven, Wendy and Keith keeping a close eye on Heath. After Kellyn took over for me, he caught the Magnezone, which quickly flew away after it was freed from mind control. I saw that Kellyn and I had made over one hundred loops on the Pokémon and were overjoyed that we got an S rank on such a powerful foe. We then heard Heath scream with rage as his Miniremo malfunctioned.

"You…you Rangers beat…me?! That sorry excuse of a Ranger couldn't do it, yet you two did?! I'm not through yet…" Heath said as he took out another Miniremo, though Kellyn and I were ahead of his plan.

"Pachirisu, Raichu, use Thunderbolt on that helicopter!" Kellyn shouted as both Pokémon charged up their attacks.

"Vulpix, Buneary, use your strongest moves on the engine!" I said as the two Pokémon started to aim at the engine.

"Grr…I know when I'm beat, I'll be taking my leave now!" Heath said as the helicopter attempted to leave, with Heath angrily tossing Keith's Fine Styler as Keith ran to get it.

However, Pachirisu and Raichu did heavy damage to the helicopter's tail rotor, while Vulpix damaged the engine and Buneary used Jump Kick on the helicopter, sending it soaring through the air and through the opening as we heard Heath and the pilot's screams fade away.

"Wow, you guys…that was amazing! You all really showed Heath whose boss!" Keith said as he reattached his Fine Styler.

"Hahah, thanks Keith, now that you have your Fine Styler back, we'll help you with capturing the Guardian. This is technically your mission, since Chairperson Erma doesn't know that we're here." Kellyn said as Keith grinned.

"Speaking of you guys being here, you wouldn't believe what I had to do in order to even come here! The first thing that happened was that I made a little decoy so that no one would think I headed out of the Ranger Union so early. Afterwards, I headed to Captain Haruba's boat since it would be a bit faster than a Staraptor, at least according to him anyway…but then before we could even leave the port, his boat broke down! So then I had to search for a Psychic type Pokémon that could teleport me all the way to Haruba Village since I stayed here for a few hours before I headed to Fiore for training. I figured using a Kadabra to teleport me to Haruba Village would be the best option but I couldn't even find any Psychic type Pokémon so I still had to use a Staraptor. Haruba Village was just as nice as I remember it, very peaceful and calm, I wanted to enjoy the scenery after I headed to the Hippowdon Ruins so I made my way there first. Even after I tried reaching early, I still arrived later than you guys…" Keith said.

"Keith, don't be so hard on yourself, you did what you could and that's what counts. You're not a bad Ranger in the slightest. If you've heard about some of the Rangers that we had to deal with, you wouldn't be so tough on yourself. Besides, Rhythmi thinks you're a great Ranger!" I said.

"Luana's right, if you weren't cut out to be a Ranger, let alone a Top Ranger, you would have failed Ranger School and you didn't, that alone says something!" Kellyn said.

"Heh…that's true, I feel good now. Thanks guys! Now that I feel better than before, let's capture that Guardian and let it know that we don't have any bad intentions with the Yellow Gem!" Keith said as we all carefully walked up to the Yellow Gem, though the Gardevoir stopped in its tracks when we were halfway to the Gem, with the Bronzor from Kellyn's jacket popping out and heading next to the Pokémon.

"Get ready, the Guardian is about to attack!" Sven said as a small Pokémon swooped down, it didn't let out a ferocious roar or glare at us compared to some of the other Pokémon, but instead, it simply smiled at us.

"This…this Pokémon is…Cresselia! We don't mean any harm Cresselia, I'm certain you already know that, but we're here for the Yellow Gem and if we have to momentarily capture you so we can prove that we have no ill intentions, then we'll do battle with you if you accept!" Kellyn said as Cresselia smiled once more and made a Psychic barrier around itself.

"Looks like it's ready for us, let's give it our all!" Sven said.

"Gengar, use your Poké Assist against Cresselia so it won't attack too often!" Kellyn said as Gengar made some dark mist with glowing red eyes, making Cresselia flinch as it ceased its barrier while it teleported around.

Kellyn made several loops around the Cresselia as it was continuously being stunned by the mist, I noticed that the Gengar's Poké Assist only lasted ten more seconds as more of the dark mist hit the Cresselia, as I noticed the friendship meter slowly filling up to twenty-five percent and increasing to thirty percent. I noticed Kellyn getting tired which was understandable as he had to order the Gengar where to go since the Cresselia kept teleporting around the room, attempting to attack though the only move it continued to use was the Psychic barrier, which Kellyn had to be careful of.

Soon after, the Gengar's Poké Assist ended as it went to the entrance of the room, waiting for the Gardevoir. The Cresselia noticed this and started to glow a bright yellow as it started to fire a purple Flamethrower which everyone dodged as it wasn't fast compared to some of the other Flamethrowers we've encountered before. I got Gardervoir to help since it's Psychic Poké Assist wouldn't do much, but it would still be helpful in stalling it.

"Gardevoir, stop that Cresselia in its tracks! I'll help you out Kellyn!" I said as I quickly made loops, forming several purple rings imbued with Psychic energy as the Gardevoir launched them at the Cresselia.

As the Cresselia was temporarily stunned, I had made a few loops around it, though as expected, even with the Pokémon being unable to move, it was able to shake off the Psychic energy rather quickly, with the Gardevoir's Poké Assist ending.

"Thanks for the help Gengar and Gardevoir!" Kellyn said as the Pokémon both waved and teleported out of the room.

"This Cresselia is tougher than I thought! Any ideas?" Wendy said as she dodged a purple orb fired at her.

Kellyn and I turned to each other and grinned, thinking of a great plan.

"Raichu, Pachirisu, stun the Cresselia so it can't move! Buneary, we'll need you to boost our Styler's power so that we can fill up the friendship meter quicker! Vulpix, once Pachirisu and Raichu's Poké Assists run out and the Cresselia shakes off the paralysis, use Fire Spin so it gets tired and can't attack as much!" Kellyn and I said as our Pokémon jumped into action.

Raichu and Pachirisu were able to successfully paralyze the Cresselia, making the Guardian easier to make loops around, each time, the Cresselia was able to break free of paralysis after ten seconds each time and the Poké Assists were about to run out soon, so Raichu and Pachirisu combined their electricity and were able to stun Cresselia, as both Pokémon slowly walked over to where Sven and Wendy were, as they needed to rest after using all of their power. I made a few more loops before Kellyn took over, with the Cresselia's friendship meter rising to forty percent thanks to the help of Buneary, where the friendship meter was slowly but surely increasing at a steady pace.

Soon afterwards, the Cresselia shook off the paralysis and Vulpix jumped in to use Fire Spin, making the Cresselia not attack as much, though it soon started firing off purple orbs in several directions, with most of them aimed at us. Buneary continued helping us out, cheering us on along with Sven, Wendy and Keith as the friendship meter rose to sixty percent.

"Great work guys, keep it up, Sven and I would like a turn soon though!" Wendy said as I let Wendy take over so she could make loops around the Pokémon.

Wendy was able to dodge the Cresselia's Flamethrower once more as she made some more loops, with Buneary's Poké Assist ending as she went to join Pachirisu and Raichu, after using Fire Spin on Cresselia once more, Vulpix grew tired as well and went over to them.

It was at this point that the Cresselia started to attack more, as it made a purple orb of energy go upwards, making rotations around the entire room at a fast rate of speed as it started to charge up another Flamethrower which made us all duck for cover.

"Wendy, I'll take over now!" Sven said as he ran over to help Wendy.

"Keith, don't you worry, you'll capture the Guardian itself and take the Yellow Gem back with you." Kellyn said as everyone nodded in approval aside from Keith, who looked shocked.

"W-what?! But you guys did all the work, why should I be allowed to get the Gem and capture Cresselia?!" Keith said as Sven made loops around the Guardian, dodging some of its orbs as it continued to teleport.

"Because this was your mission to begin with, we just came here to make sure you were safe." Kellyn said.

"That's correct, you deserve this Keith. Besides, we all did what we could to help, such as having our Pokémon use Poké Assists and doing what we could to fill up its friendship meter as much as possible." I said as Keith smiled.

"Wow…I don't how how to thank you guys, I really appreciate it. I'm ready for you Cresselia! I'll take over for you Sven! You guys can help if you want!" Keith said as Sven went back to Wendy while Keith started making loops around Cresselia, slowly bringing its friendship meter to seventy percent, though at this point, the Cresselia was attacking constantly, firing Flamethrowers and multiple orbs of energy, which Keith understandably had a lot of trouble with dodging.

"Agh, what do I do?! This Cresselia is going to kill me!" Keith said as he began to panic.

"I have an idea…Keith, use Bronzor's Poké Assist! Cresselia won't be able to attack at all, it'll be Paused!" Kellyn shouted as Keith had Bronzor launch multiple iron balls at Cresselia, the Bronzor's Poké Assist ran out, but it was helpful as it made Cresselia not attack as Keith continued to make loops around the Pokémon, eventually capturing it as he fell backwards and let out a sigh of relief, especially when the purple orb moving around the room disappeared.

The Cresselia looked at all of us when we walked up to Keith as it smiled at us and teleported away. The Yellow Gem shined brightly on its pedestal as Keith went up to it.

"Are…are you guys sure I can have this Gem even though you guys did all the work?" Keith said.

"Of course Keith, that Gem is your mission!" Sven said cheerfully.

"That's right, we didn't do all the work, we only helped you out when needed!" Wendy said.

"After all, you captured the Cresselia, didn't you?" Kellyn said.

"Hahah…I…I guess I did! Thanks guys, let's get out of here!" Keith said as we exited the room.

Upon exiting the room, I noticed a bright purple light shining in the corner. As we headed over to it, we saw that it was like the one at Almia Castle.

"That's the way out of here, let's go!" Kellyn said as we entered the portal and found ourselves outside at the Hippowdon Ruins.


	36. Chapter 36: Meeting Luana's parents

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or the Ranger series!**

Chapter 36: Meeting Luana's parents!

"That was…weird, but awesome! I've never headed through a portal before! What are you guys going to do since we got the Yellow Gem?" Keith said.

"We're going to stay in Haruba Village for a bit and relax. Those ruins were insane, I've never seen anything like it!" I said as everyone nodded.

"Good point, that place was crazy. I'll be heading back to Haruba Village's port to pick up Buizel, he's staying with a friend of Captain Haruba. His name is Captain Boyle but he's currently docked here so he can take me back to the Ranger Union now. I'll tell Chairperson Erma that I completed my mission, though I still feel bad about it." Keith said.

"No need Keith, we're glad that you completed your mission! Be safe heading back to the Ranger Union, it's already 3:42 P.M so it'll take a while for you to head back to the Ranger Union." Kellyn said.

"That's true, I'll enjoy the boat ride back with Captain Boyle, thanks for the help guys, I'll try to repay the favor. I'll run up ahead! Bye!" Keith said as he soon ran out of sight.

We all laughed for a little as we saw Keith run off while we walked back to Haruba Village, taking about a half hour to do so.

"That was a great adventure, your Partner Pokémon were great!" Sven said as our Partner Pokémon all jumped with joy.

"I agree, our Pokémon did a fantastic job! It was fun travelling with you guys, what are you two going to do now?" I said.

"Wendy and I are going to rest in the hotel nearby, we're really exhausted from those Ruins! If you two need anything, we'll be over at that hotel! We'll take Vulpix and Raichu with us, they need some rest, you know?" Sven said as he pointed to a small three-story hotel, which I remember being very popular whenever I visited.

"A hotel huh? Hope you two have fun! Take good care of Vulpix and Raichu too!" Kellyn said as Sven and Wendy blushed.

"We will, thanks guys! Hope you two enjoy yourselves, Terry would be thrilled to meet Kellyn!" Wendy said.

"I know, it'll be nice to see how he's doing! I just hope my parents aren't going to spot me or Kellyn when we're heading to his house. We'll let you guys know if we need anything! Bye!" I said as Wendy and Sven waved and headed over to the hotel, hand in hand.

"They're cute together, but not as cute as us!" Kellyn said as he kissed me on the cheek, making me blush.

"T-that's right! Let's go see my brother, he'll be so glad to meet you!" I said as I took Kellyn's hand and walked with him through Haruba Village.

"Wow, I've never been here before, this place really shouldn't be called a village, it's very similar to Pueltown!" Kellyn said as we looked at all the different houses and businesses.

"I know, it wasn't as big as this when I was younger, though it's nice to see how developed it's become. We're about to reach Terry's house in a couple of minutes, but don't worry, he's really nice!" I said as Kellyn relaxed a little.

"Good, speaking of which, how do you know that Terry's going to be home?" Kellyn said as I grinned.

"I remember him telling me that he would be coming home at the end of every month, so for instance, he would be travelling or exploring for the first half of the month and then he would come back home to relax for the remainder of the month. I haven't seen him since I started working as a Ranger in Vientown but I remember him being very proud of me when I graduated from Ranger School." I said.

"Sounds like your brother is quite the explorer! Is this his house?" Kellyn said as he motioned over to a two story home with a couple of Riolu statues in front of it.

The house itself was the same from when I last saw it, looking similar to Kellyn's home except for a large arch in front of it, along with a small garden for cacti.

"Yes it is! Let me knock on the door, hopefully he isn't asleep." I said as I knocked on the door while Kellyn admired the house.

"Wow, this place looks great! I love the architecture, the arch is a really nice touch!" Kellyn said as Pachirisu and Buneary hopped up and down in agreement.

"I agree, my brother has good taste in design!" I said as the door opened.

"Luana! How are you doing sis? It's so good to see you after so long! Those are some adorable Pokémon, hi there!" Terry said as he patted Pachirisu and Buneary on their heads.

"It's nice to see you, Terry. Is it okay if we come in?" I said.

"Of course, please come in, I can get better acquainted with your friend where it's not as hot. Good to know that you're popular with the guys!" Terry said as Kellyn nodded shyly as we both headed inside.

We took off our shoes and put them next to Terry's and after doing so, I gave my brother a long overdue hug. After pulling away from my brother, Kellyn nervously shook his hand and we then went by the chairs in his living room, happily sitting down after exploring the ruins for hours while Pachirisu and Buneary lied down next to us.

"Luana, I'm so happy you're here, it's great to see you! By the way, I didn't happen to catch the name of your friend, don't worry, I won't bite!" Terry said with a laugh as Kellyn managed to calm down from how much he was panicking.

"Hello Terry, my name's Kellyn, sorry for not introducing myself before. I'm Luana's boyfriend, it's nice to meet you." Kellyn said as Terry smiled from ear to ear.

"No need to be sorry, Kellyn! I can understand that you're going to be nervous meeting me for the first time. You're Luana's boyfriend huh? Good, I can tell that you make her happy." Terry said.

"Luana's absolutely wonderful and I'm glad to meet you as well, I don't feel nervous anymore considering how friendly you are. Haruba Village is certainly a lovely place, I can see why you live here!" Kellyn said as Terry smiled.

"Well I hope you enjoy Haruba Village, it's really beautiful here. Speaking of which, what brings you two to Haruba Village by the way? I'm glad to see the two of you, but you guys aren't here because of Mom and dad badgering Kellyn or you, right?" Terry said.

"No, we're not here because of them, we actually helped a fellow Ranger named Keith get the Yellow Gem." I said as Terry looked surprised.

"The…the Yellow Gem?! I actually made a map of the inside of Hippowdon Ruins for this old guy…er…his name was Hastings or something like that." Terry said.

"The explorer was you? I figured as much! That place was terrifying though, how did you not get attacked by those Team Dim Sun goons inside?" Kellyn said.

"Team Dim Sun? I didn't see any of them when I was there, they must have come after I left or something. It really was scary though, those traps were dangerous and those Pokémon were just as deadly." Terry said as we heard yelling from outside.

"Oh no, it sounds like Mom and Dad are here, should we hide?" I groaned as Kellyn tensed up.

"Don't worry sis, Mom and Dad will be nice once they see Kellyn is here, they don't know you two are together. You know they're only rude when they're with us." Terry said as he hesitantly opened the door.

My parents were at first, furious at Terry, though once they saw Kellyn, they bit their tongues as they entered the house, with Terry closing the door and sitting down next to Kellyn, while our Partner Pokémon slept. Even though Terry and I might look similar to our parents, such as our facial features and black hair, we were both glad we didn't have their attitudes or short tempers.

"So, our kids are here, wonderful…you two have finally come back home, it's about time you two took a break from your miserable jobs. Terry and Luana, you two are really…oh, who's this?" Mom said as dad looked at Kellyn.

"Hello, my name's Kellyn, it's nice to meet you two." Kellyn said as he forced a smile, doing his best to refrain from frowning at the disrespect my parents were showing as he shook both of their hands firmly.

"Hi there Kellyn, we're Luana and Terry's parents in case you weren't paying attention and listening to us." Dad said as Kellyn's eye twitched.

"I have ears, I heard Mrs. Rakua perfectly fine, thanks." Kellyn said as he scowled at my father, causing him to flinch as he moved back while Terry and I tried to contain our laughter from how Kellyn managed to scare our father.

"S-so you did, my mistake. Ah…Luana and Terry, how do you know this…scary man here?" Dad said as Kellyn's expression softened.

The three of us were worried to admit that Kellyn was my boyfriend, primarily because of the fear that my parents would verbally abuse Kellyn, at the same time, telling them know I'm with someone would make them feel as if they can't control me anymore.

"Kellyn isn't a scary man, he's my boyfriend and before you say anything, yes, he makes me very happy, he's the best and he has saved me from nearly dying several times while I returned the favor. Even when I temporarily got amnesia, he still stayed by my side and helped my get all of my memories back." I said as I held Kellyn's hand.

"You…you got amnesia? I didn't even call you to see how you were doing…I'm sorry Luana. I'm a horrible brother…" Terry said as he put his head in his hands.

"No Terry, you're not a horrible brother and there's no need to be sorry. You're exploring and travelling helping out people, don't blame yourself!" I said as I patted Terry on the back as he looked back up at my parents, who were glaring at me.

"How sad. Kellyn, let me ask you something, do you love Luana? Would you still love her even if she became deaf, blind or both? The both of you are perfect for each other, you're both pathetic." Mom said as Kellyn turned his attention from me to my mother.

"Those are idiotic questions. Of course I love Luana, I love her no matter what. Whether she was blind, deaf, mute, or all three, nothing would change how much I love Luana. I'm surprised by the behavior of you two, it's like Luana and Terry are the children and you two are the kids, even after you two are being condescending towards them, they still love you and yet you two don't even care. I know I'm supposed to be respectful, but how can the two of you treat your own kids this way?" Kellyn said as my mother looked away while my father smirked.

"So…aside from all of that, Luana, what does Kellyn do for you? Does he love you or care about you? Is he rich? What about his family?" Dad said as he attempted to turn his attention to Kellyn, though he quickly looked away.

I was hesitant on mentioning Kellyn's family in the event that mom and dad tried to attack them as well, which would be even worse since they couldn't defend themselves, though Kellyn gently squeezed my hand and gave me a small nod.

"Well dad, Kellyn does love me a lot as he just mentioned and he does care for me. His parents are both esteemed doctors who help people and Pokemon and his sister is training to become an Operator. I don't care if Kellyn or his family is rich or not, I love him for how he is and that's what matters to me. He's sweet, loving and caring, he's everything I want." I said as my father scowled.

"See mom and dad? That shows you how close the two of them are, can't you just let them be happy with each other?" Terry said.

"Keep your mouth shut Terry. You always go exploring everywhere helping out people or the Ranger Union but you never visit us even though we live nearby!" Mom said angrily.

"Don't talk to him that way, can you blame him for wanting to see how amazing Almia is? If anything, he's afraid of you two because of how you both treat Luana and him. I'm not telling you two how to be parents, but that's not the way to show your kids love. When they were little kids, the right thing to do would have been to love them when they behave well and when they misbehave or cause trouble, grounding them or disciplining them would be sufficient so they know not to do it again. Though the both of them turned out great, they could have been…damaged due to how you two mistreated them." Kellyn said as I struggled to hold back a few tears, overjoyed by how much he's stuck up for me as well as doing the same for Terry.

Both mom and dad's expressions went from angry to…relaxed, they're not like this often but to see them like this was a welcome sight.

"We…we're sorry, we understand now…the way we raised Luana and Terry wasn't right. Whenever they were bullied, we didn't do anything to stop it, we just took them home and continued mocking them. They could have easily ended up hating us and still…even now, they love us." Dad said quietly.

"If a child or a parent really loves the other, their love will never go away. That's what my parents have always taught me and my sister growing up. The both of you can still show love to Luana and Terry before it's too late, they love you, so it wouldn't be hard for them to accept your love despite how you two treated them as kids." Kellyn said.

"Your parents taught you well, we'll do our best to show more love to our kids, though it'll take time, we want them to know that we do have hearts. Thank you Kellyn, you'll be a great son-in-law. Kellyn, Luana and Terry, we're really sorry how we treated you." Mom said as Kellyn blushed.

"No worries mom, you and dad can repair the relationship you have with us if you make the effort!" Terry said as my parents smiled, something I don't remember them doing in a long time.

"We certainly will. We've harmed you two emotionally and mentally and we will do what we can to fix that as best as we can." Dad said as they both got calls on their phones.

"Hello? You need me to cover someone's shift now? I'm spending time with family. You'll give me overtime?" Mom said as she looked at us for the okay, which we all nodded our heads to.

"Okay boss, I have to help someone with a chemical spill? No one else can do it?"  
Dad said as he also looked at us for confirmation, where we also nodded our heads once more.

After mom and dad confirmed with their bosses that they were able to come in, Terry opened the front door for them as they walked to the entrance.

"We're sorry we couldn't spend time with you three more, are you and Kellyn staying here for a bit or are you headed back to the Ranger Union?" Mom said.

"Don't worry, we'll be able to do that whenever you guys visit the Ranger Union or whenever we come here! We have to get on Captain Haruba's boat and head back to the Ranger Union in the next ten minutes or so unfortunately." I said as my parents smiled.

"Don't worry about it sweetheart, we would love to come see you and your friends at the Ranger Union sometime! I'll be heading to the chemical plant now, I'll miss you guys." Dad said as he hugged us.

"We'll work on our behavior first, I'll have to head to the clinic to help them out. Luana, Terry, we're both proud of you two very much. Kellyn, thanks for helping us understand that we should love our kids more." Mom said.

"Thanks mom, that means a lot! We'll miss you guys, we love you!" I said as our parents gave Terry and I a kiss on the cheek while giving Kellyn a hug as they waved to us and went to their workplaces while our Pokémon and us waved back.

"Wow Kellyn, I can see why Luana loves you, you helped solve our family problems in thirty minutes!" Terry said happily.

"I'm glad I could help! They finally understand that the pain they cause you two isn't good, the four of you can rebuild the relationship, though it'll take some time." Kellyn said as I hugged him.

"It's possible thanks to you! Terry, it was great to see you, though it was only for a short while, don't worry though, we'll be back to visit you guys!" I said as Terry gave me a hug.

"That'll be fun, have a safe trip back, bye sis, bye Kellyn!" Terry said as we exited his house after saying goodbye.

"Kellyn, thank you so much. You've always been there for me and you even managed to help my parents understand what they were doing was hurting us and didn't help anyone at all, not even themselves. I know I say this a lot, but you're a wonderful partner, I love you." I said as I gave Kellyn a kiss on the cheek.

"It's no problem at all Luana, when you told me about your parents at first, I was completely taken aback by their treatment towards you and your brother. I didn't even think it would have went as well as it did but I'm glad that I helped them understand that giving a child nurturing when they're growing up is one of the most important things they need. Are we going to get Sven and Wendy along with our other Partner Pokémon before we head back to the Ranger Union?" Kellyn said.

"I'm glad you spoke to my parents, you really made a difference to them. As for getting everyone, let's go ahead and do that, hopefully they're done having fun by now!" I said as we both went over to the hotel Wendy and Sven were at.

We headed inside and right as I was about to go to the clerk, I noticed Wendy and Sven heading out of the double doors to our left with our Partner Pokémon in their hands.

"Hi guys! Sven and I were just…relaxing for a bit. We were just about to ask you guys if you were ready to leave for the Ranger Union!" Wendy said.

"Relaxing with Sven in a room alone…for at least an hour, something tells me you guys didn't just sleep! All jokes aside, we're ready to go when you guys are!" I said as we all shared a laugh and headed to the dock where Captain Haruba was waiting.

"Hello there Rangers, good to see all of you again! Your friend Keith and his Buizel went back with my friend Boyle about a half hour ago. Hopefully he doesn't run into engine trouble like he did with my boat!" Captain Haruba said as we all climbed aboard his boat.

"Nice to see you too Captain, I think we'll be fine this time around. Hopefully the water is going to be calm the entire time." I said as we all got comfortable.

"No need to worry about that, there won't be any rain on the sea today! I would say sit back and relax, but you're all doing that already!" Captain Haruba said with a hearty laugh as he went inside the cabin as we started to move.

"That was a great adventure, now that we got all three Gems, does this mean that our next goal is to find Team Dim Sun's bases?" Wendy said as our Pokémon got comfortable.

"Well, I would say that finding their bases is a top priority but the main issue is that we have no idea where to go. Perhaps Vatona, Nage or Professor Hastings can do something to help us." Kellyn said.

"That's right, as of now, there's nothing we can really do since we don't know where to look, we've been to a lot of places in Almia as it is. Let's keep thinking of what to do since we'll be here for a while." I said.

"Good point, we could search Almia all day and all night but there's the chance we still won't find any of Team Dim Sun's bases. Should we call Marcus or Linda to see how they're doing?" Sven said.

"It would be nice to see if they're okay but Ben, Betty and Murph can keep Chairperson Erma preoccupied for so long, it's already 5:10 so knowing Chairperson Erma, she's most likely upstairs monitoring the Top Operators, or at the very least, in the general area where they are." Kellyn said.

"That's right, Rhythmi is going to be with Marcus and Linda, I remember the Chairperson saying she would be right there in order to make sure Keith is okay, or something along those lines." Wendy said.

"That's okay! We'll see how they're doing when we come back, we should do something to thank everyone for helping us out. I felt horrible for how we had to lie to Chairperson Erma but seeing Keith unconscious in the Guardian's room made me realize that it was for the better." I said as everyone agreed.

"That's right, who knows what would have happened to Keith if we weren't there. He could have gotten kidnapped and held for ransom, assaulted or killed. With how bold Team Dim Sun is getting lately, I wouldn't be surprised if the admins or the Sinis Trio thought of doing that to Keith already." Kellyn said.

"Yeah, they're getting dangerous now. Murph was telling us about how you two were able to capture a grunt who attempted to take over a store owner's shop as he hid in the dumpster waiting for him." Sven said.

"I remember that grunt, he was really unsettling with how casually he talked about it. I didn't know Murph spoke about us!" I said.

"Of course he does, everyone loves you two! He really appreciated how you two were so quick to accept his offer to get a Roserade to give to Linda. The two of them are so sweet together, they really make each other happy." Wendy said some Wingull started to fly overhead before turning back around.

"It wasn't any trouble at all, I'm happy for the both of them. Speaking of which, remember how weird the situation became after we were heading back with the Roserade, Luana?" Kellyn said as I recalled the eerie doppelganger of Rhythmi.

"I remember that terrifying person…she may have seemed a lot like Rhythmi but her mannerisms inside the interrogation room made us know exactly how scary she was." I said, trembling as I remember how much she licked her lips while looking at Kellyn.

_'__The nerve of that creep, trying to seem as if she could have her way with Kellyn, not just any Kellyn…but my beloved Kellyn.' _I thought to myself as my heart started to race, thinking of how Kellyn did his best to stay calm, even as he stared directly at evil.

"Oh wow, can you or Kellyn explain how the lookalike acted?" Sven said.

"She was absolutely terrifying, whenever she would mention me by name, she would look directly at me and lick her lips, even to the point where she asked me if she wanted us to have some fun with each other. When she first woke up and kissed me on the cheek, I was disgusted and annoyed. The only people who can kiss me on the cheek are my mother and Luana. Not just anyone named Luana, but my Luana." Kellyn said as I felt my face get hot.

"Oooh, your Luana huh? Aw Kellyn, that's so sweet!" I said as I gave Kellyn a big hug.

"Hahah, that is really adorable! But I will say that sounds really scary with how you described it, she sounded and looked like Rhythmi so if you two didn't know she was actually in Fiore with Keith, I would imagine that you two would be really shocked." Wendy said.

"Yeah, when we were listening to her speak, it was scary how she sounded identical to Rhythmi. She even said she wanted to have some fun with me, that was something else that was terrifying." Kellyn said as he shuddered.

"Wow, that's disturbing, the good part is that she's somewhere far away where she can't harm anyone else." Sven said as we nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that's true. On a more lighter note, what are you guys going to do once we get back to the Ranger Union?" Kellyn said as Sven and Wendy seemed deep in thought for a moment.

"The first thing we're going to do…is sleep! We're really exhausted from everything we did today, I'm sure you guys are tired too!" Wendy said.

"We are, travelling those ruins was exhausting but it was enjoyable, aside from that weird staircase." I said as I shuddered.

"Attention passengers, we'll be reaching Pueltown in the next few minutes. The time right now is currently 7:45 P.M. so you'll all be able to see the beauty of Pueltown!" Captain Haruba said as he came out of the cabin and went back in quickly.

"Wow, we reached Pueltown fast, hard to believe we've been on the boat for two hours. I can't wait to get back to the Ranger Union!" Sven said as the boat docked.

"Thanks once again for being such awesome passengers. Hope you all had fun sailing with me!" Captain Haruba said.

"We did, thanks again Captain!" I said as we all exited the boat, with Pachirisu and Buneary hopping on our shoulders while Raichu and Vulpix happily strolled alongside us.

After a few minutes, we entered Pueltown and did a quick patrol for anything strange, since we found nothing out of the ordinary, we left the main area of Pueltown and headed down Union Road, though I noticed that Kellyn immediately locked his arm with mine as he stayed close to me.


	37. Chapter 37: A new Ranger!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or the Ranger series.**

Chapter 37: A new Ranger!

"S-sorry, being around here this late still bothers me." Kellyn said as he trembled, with Sven and Wendy being right next to us.

"Don't worry Kellyn, I'll be here to protect you, just like you've done with me. Besides, we got Sven, Wendy and our Pokémon here, we have nothing to worry about." I said as Kellyn relaxed a little, though he still maintained his iron grip.

"Luana's right, you'll be safe Kellyn. We'll attack any assailants that try to harm you!" Sven said as he imitated a Machop using Dynamic Punch, which only made all of us snicker.

"Hah, nice one Sven, that definitely helped Kellyn relax!" Wendy said as I saw how Kellyn definitely became less tense, his grip no longer tight on my arm.

Though I certainly didn't mind comforting Kellyn, seeing him so distressed and fidgety really upset me.

"Kellyn, don't you worry, just like I've always told you, I'll keep you safe." I said as Kellyn grinned at me.

"Thank you Luana, I feel much better now. We're almost to the Ranger Union, so once we reach there in a few minutes, we'll just head straight to bed, I'm feeling exhausted." Kellyn said as he stifled a yawn.

"I know, I'm feeling really tired myself…it's like I can…fall asleep…any second…" I said as I felt myself drifting off to sleep.

I woke up and managed to rub my eyes a little, upon opening my eyes, I saw Kellyn carrying me with a smile on his face.

"Yay, you're awake Luana! We're inside the Ranger Union, you fell asleep five minutes ago so I figured carrying you would be the best option. Sven and Wendy were just getting some snacks but they'll be back shortly." Kellyn said as he gently lowered me so I can get to my feet.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep on you like that!" I said.

"Don't be sorry, I didn't mind at all. Today's adventure was really something else, even Sven almost fell asleep, though Wendy had to keep him steady." Kellyn said as Sven and Wendy came down with some snacks.

"Hi Luana, good to know you woke up, some of the people here are asleep so we snuck into the cafeteria and got some stuff for you and Kellyn. Take however much you guys want!" Wendy said as she and Sven showed us some small sandwiches, a few water bottles and a couple of Oran berries.

Kellyn and I took one sandwich and berry each, the both of us finishing our food in a matter of minutes because of how starving we were.

"Wow, I thought I was hungry, I think that's the fastest you two have ever eaten your food! Are you two headed to bed now?" Sven said as he and Wendy finished half of their sandwiches.

"I don't think I've ever eaten that fast, but yeah, Luana and I are going to go sleep, we're just as exhausted as you guys. Good night Sven, good night Wendy!" Kellyn said as he helped me up.

"Good night guys, get some rest!" Wendy said as we waved, with both of them going upstairs shortly afterwards.

"Oh no…Ben and Betty are in the Pokémon Training Room but they're most likely already asleep by now. How about we have our Partner Pokémon sleep in our room? They can get a good night's rest on the loveseat if that's okay with you." Kellyn said as we went to the entrance of our room with our Pokémon happily following us.

"Kellyn, that would be a wonderful idea, let's head inside and get ready for bed!" I said as we entered the room.

As the lights came on, our Partner Pokémon went into our arms and we took them to the bathroom, washing them so they were clean. After we finished doing so, Kellyn and I put them on the loveseat, with Kellyn wrapping them around several blankets to keep them warm.

Kellyn and I headed back to the bathroom and got ourselves ready for bed, brushing our teeth and changing into our pajamas as we sleepily climbed into bed, happy that the lights come off automatically.

"Kellyn, that was lots of fun at the ruins, seeing my brother and having things mended with my parents was simply amazing. Let's see what Chairperson Erma has in store for us tomorrow!" I said as Kellyn moved closer to me.

"I agree, I enjoyed the ruins too, I'm happy that I got to meet Terry as well as having your parents focus on their relationship with you guys, I also hope that the Chairperson's task isn't something too stressful. Good night Luana, I love you." Kellyn said with a smile.

"Good night Kellyn, I love you too." I said happily as Kellyn moved closer to me, our hands intertwined as I felt myself drifting off to sleep.

Even though I soon felt comfortable when Kellyn was so close to me, the thought of sleep was interrupted with rumbling as I sat up. Kellyn was already on his feet even as the entire room shook for a few more brief moments which also made our Pokémon wake up.

"That rumbling was awfully loud…it must be…Team Dim Sun!" Kellyn said as we both tried bolting out of the room and tried heading upstairs, though Kellyn ended up hitting the door.

"Ow…the electrical systems must be knocked out, the lights and doors aren't working. Stand back Luana!" Kellyn said as he broke open the door with a kick from his strong legs.

We made our way of the hallway with our Pokémon close behind us and ran up the escalators which weren't working either, as we went up to the second floor, the lights came back on and the Ranger Union was the same as during the day. Upon reaching the third floor and reaching the Operator's Room, we saw smoke coming from the escalator leading up to the Tree of Harmony, Kellyn and I both quickly went through the smoke and found Ice and Leilani with all three Gems in their containers with both of them holding onto a rope with their other arm. Looking up, we saw a huge chunk of the ceiling was missing as we heard the helicopter blades, we were angered that these two were able to invade the Ranger Union and our Partner Pokémon weren't happy either. Our Pokémon were getting into battle positions but stopped once they saw the Gems, upon hearing the noise our Pokémon made, Ice and Leilani turned to us and seemed quite surprised to see us there.

"Heh, if it isn't Kellyn and Luana. You two in particular really hurt our buddy Heath, all he wanted to do was torture Keith and yet you and those other two Rangers decided to ruin his fun. You two caused some serious damage to that helicopter and even injured Heath and the chopper pilot to the point where they couldn't join us on this fun invasion. It's been nice seeing you two, but I must be going. Leilani has been eager to fight the two of you ever since she got beat by your buddies." Ice said with a smirk as he tugged on the rope, as Leilani gave him the Red Gem.

After Ice got pulled up, Leilani let go of her rope and glared at the two of us, pulling out a device which shot out a rope that tied up my legs before either Kellyn or I could react.

"Well, it's about time I got to fight you two, though I must say two versus one wasn't fair. I'm glad that I made things a bit more…even." Leilani said as she grinned.

Kellyn and I both did our best to break myself free of the rope, even having Vulpix try to burn it didn't work, Leilani cackled in response to this as the rope started to squeeze around my legs.

"W-what is with this rope?" I stammered in surprised.

"Hahah…don't think about trying to break free from that. I've heard how strong you two are, so I came prepared, there isn't a way for either of you to break that rope right now even with your Pokémon, so don't bother. The more you struggle, the more the rope tightens. It's time for you to pay, Luana." Leilani said as she tried rushing at me with a large knife in her hand.

Kellyn was much faster than her and was able to push her back, slapping her hard across the face before leading up with disarming her weapon as it dropped to the ground. Leilani did her best to try getting the knife back and was successful at first, but Kellyn managed to kick the knife away, though it appeared as if she stabbed him just before he kicked it. This only made Leilani retaliate with a sucker punch that Kellyn dodged.

Kellyn followed up with a powerful right hook to Leilani's face, knocking her out as he still tried to remove the rope. Leilani managed to regain consciousness as Kellyn moved me near the staircase where it would be safer, she tried charging at Kellyn and swinging a fist at him, but Kellyn responded once more with a hard slap followed by a direct punch in her nose which sent her sprawling back as she tried to stop the blood coming down from her nose. She looked up at Kellyn with anger whereas I could just barely see Kellyn giving a frightening glare.

"Don't get near her, you scum." Kellyn said as his voice seethed with rage, effectively making Leilani silent as we saw Ice come back down within seconds.

"Wow…Leilani…are you okay?" Ice said with his expression being shocked.

"Let's see, a super tall Ranger just beat me in a fight and managed to disarm me with little effort as I tried killing Luana. I only managed to stab him once and I didn't get to do that to her! Of course I'm not okay, get me out of here!" Leilani shouted as Ice helped her up, with the both of them fleeing before Kellyn could stop them.

Soon after, we heard footsteps as Marcus, Linda, Murph, Ben, Betty, Sven and Wendy came upstairs with panicked expressions on their faces. Kellyn looked exhausted as he turned to face everyone and immediately collapsed on top of me, which made everyone rush over to us.

"We…we came as soon as we could…what…what did Team Dim Sun do to you guys…?" Marcus said.

"They…they attacked Kellyn and…they stole the Gems…they're all gone! What do we do?!" I said as I started to panic even more.

"The first thing we do is get you guys to the medical room, Kellyn and you may not appear to be injured, but it's better safe than sorry." Ben said as everyone helped us up, with Sven and Wendy supporting me while Ben and Betty helped Kellyn who was still unconscious as they took both of us to the medical room we always stayed in.

"Wait…don't help me first, make sure Kellyn is okay. Leilani said that she somehow managed to stab Kellyn once, though I was her intended target. Please…make sure Kellyn is okay." I said as Ben and Betty gently put Kellyn on the gurney, while our Partner Pokémon crowded near us, after they put Kellyn on the gurney, Sven and Wendy helped me to my own.

"But…but I'm not injured, Kellyn is the one you guys need to look after, not me!" I protested, though everyone was being insistent on making sure I stay on the gurney as well.

"Please Luana, you have that rope around your legs while Kellyn is unconscious. Wendy and I will try waking up Chairperson Erma to see if she can help get that rope off of you. Don't worry, Kellyn is going to be okay." Sven said as he and Wendy rushed out of the room.

"I'll try alerting Kellyn's mother or father to see if they can come down here to help. It might be 2:41 A.M. but if they hear that you two are injured, they'll rush down right away." Murph said as Linda and him moved over to one of the chairs in the middle of the room.

Murph quickly called Kellyn's family who picked up after a few minutes while I glanced at Kellyn, gently touching his face as he laid still.

_'__Kellyn looks very peaceful…but seeing him like this when he's actually unconscious is…eerie. Please wake up soon, my love." _I thought to myself as I heard Murph's conversation.

"Mrs. Hajime, I'm sorry for calling you so late but it's your son. Kellyn and Luana were attacked by Team Dim Sun and Kellyn is currently unconscious, if either you or your husband can come to the Ranger Union, let me know and I'll arrange for a Staraptor to pick you guys up since Dr. Rhythmi is currently asleep. You'll be here soon? Great, I'll get a Staraptor at your house…er, my apologies if this sounds rude, but what is that ruckus going on? Oh? Mr. Hajime is on his way while you and Rina wait for the Staraptor? Wonderful, the Staraptor will be there in a few seconds!" Murph said as he hanged up while Linda gripped his arm worriedly.

"Everyone, since Kellyn's family will be coming here, let's keep Kellyn and Luana company until they arrive. We can sleep here in the meantime." Linda said as everyone went to the back of the room while Sven and Wendy came back in with Chairperson Erma who was absolutely shocked.

"O-oh my, Sven and Wendy informed me of what happened. Rest assured, I'll make sure getting the cretins who did this a top priority for the Ranger Union!" Chairperson Erma said.

"Thank you Chairperson Erma, do you happen to know how to get this rope off of my legs? It's really starting to hurt." I said as Chairperson Erma thought for a moment.

"Yes dearie, I've encountered this sort of material before. Pachirisu, can you shock the rope and then bite it off?" Chairperson Erma said as Pachirisu did as told and had the rope fall off after biting it.

"Thank you…Leilani said that the rope was Pokémon proof, I should have known she was lying." I said as I looked over at everyone, with Marcus, Linda, Murph, Ben and Betty being fast asleep while Sven was trying his best to stay awake.

"Sven, go sleep, you're tired. Kellyn will be fine, his family is going to come over here and see his condition, besides, Luana is here to keep him company." Wendy said as Sven continued to fall asleep.

"Aw…okay, I'll go with everyone else, you should join me." Sven said as he and Wendy walked over to where everyone else was sleeping, getting comfortable as they eventually fell asleep as well.

"Chairperson Erma…I feel horrible knowing that Team Dim Sun got away with all three Gems, I could have stopped them…but I didn't." I said as Chairperson Erma gave me a sympathetic smile.

"Dearie, you and Kellyn did your best, believe me, I know you two did great. If you tried to stop them, you could have ended up getting injured or killed, I'm glad I put a tracker on each of the three Gems." Chairperson Erma said.

"Wow, I knew you were smart but that idea is genius. I just…I just hope Kellyn is okay…" I said as I looked sadly at Kellyn.

"I understand, Kellyn's family will be here shortly Luana. I'll be heading back to bed, after all, I wouldn't want to disturb you or Kellyn or be in his family's way when they come to see how he's doing. Get some rest once you know for sure Kellyn is okay." Chairperson Erma said.

"I will, thanks Chairperson Erma, have a good rest." I said as Chairperson Erma smiled and quietly walked out of the room.

I was concerned and scared for Kellyn, he was still unconscious and hadn't shown any difference since he was brought in. As I reached over to Kellyn with a trembling hand, I checked for a pulse and breathed a sigh of relief once I felt his wrist, knowing that he had a strong pulse meant he was alive and well. Now that I was much more relaxed, I turned my body to face Kellyn, still concerned for his wellbeing and how he was able to beat Leilani in a fight despite her terrifying obsession with wanting to kill me.

"Oh Kellyn…I love you so much, you'll be okay, I'm here with you." I said as a few tears fell down my face.

After I regained my composure and stopped crying, I heard a door open and when I turned, I saw Kellyn's family walk in the room. Overjoyed to see them, I tried to get up but still wasn't able to do so as our Partner Pokémon got on top of me, adamant about me staying.  
"Easy Luana, the receptionist told us what happened, you and Kellyn have both taken quite a beating. That rope is designed to make you feel pain for the next few hours, so when you wake up, you'll feel fine but for now you have to rest and recover. We were told about Kellyn's injuries as well as the fight from Chairperson Erma, hopefully someone finds the knife soon so it can be determined if it was laced with poison." Mrs. Hajime said.

"But…Kellyn is going to be okay…isn't he? I was so relieved to hear him breathing but…what if that knife really was poisoned at the tip?" I said.

"Kellyn is going to be fine, you and him have been through much worse." Mr. Hajime said.

"Luana, the knife being poisoned could be a possibility, but you have to stay as calm as you can. Mom and dad brought their equipment to check the both of you for any injuries or poison." Rina said as Kellyn's father took out a small machine with a needle at the top.

"Don't worry Luana, I'll check Kellyn first to see if there's any poison in his body. This machine is going to check for its potency and how much is in his system. If any is detected, it'll draw the poison out of Kellyn's body until there's nothing left." Mr. Hajime said as he stuck the needle gently in Kellyn's arm.

After a few minutes of the machine being in Kellyn's arm, it made some beeping noises and slowly started sucking the poison out of his body. I didn't know whether to be overjoyed with relief or cry because of how Kellyn is going to be okay but I started to tear up as the machine completed its test and confirmed that the poison was completely gone.

"W-what did the machine say about the poison?" I said as I started to cry a bit more.

"The poison wasn't too potent, thankfully. It appears that whoever mixed it didn't know what they were doing, but as you saw, Kellyn got quite a dosage in him which meant it was still a threat to his life. What matters is that the poison isn't in his system anymore, he should be waking up soon." Mrs. Hajime said as I waited for Kellyn to open his eyes.

After waiting for only a few seconds, Kellyn's eyes fluttered open as he slowly sat up, though he was quickly stopped by all of us as we gave him an embrace.

"You're all here for me…sorry for making you all worry so much. That was a crazy fight…I remember fighting Leilani and how she was able to barely poke me with the knife before I managed to kick it away and the knife's tip was imbued with poison. But…now that I feel much better, Luana and I can think of devising a plan to find out where those Gems are!" Kellyn said as he tried getting up.

"Kellyn, you're going to stay here for the rest of the morning. You may have had that poison taken out of you but you should still get some sleep, knowing Team Dim Sun, they'll most likely start bragging about the Gems location." Rina said.

"Rina's right, please stay here Kellyn. There's going to be a whole team of Rangers doing their best to find the Gems. Everyone was so worried about you, most of them are over there sleeping!" I said as Kellyn glanced over and saw that everyone was in fact, asleep in the same room as us.

"Son, we want to make sure that you're okay. Don't overwork yourself, the same goes for you Luana. We'll be headed over there with your friends since we're unable to head back home now, after all, the Staraptor need their sleep too!" Mr. Hajime said with a chuckle.

"We'll be gone in the morning, but we'll be here for the both of you if anything else happens. Good night Kellyn and Luana, love you." Mrs. Hajime said as she gave us a warm smile.

"Good night everyone, love you too." We said as Kellyn's family went over to where everyone was sleeping, with his mom and dad going by Sven and Wendy while Rina went over to where Ben and Betty were.

"Hm? That's odd, I would have thought Rina would go over to your parents, but she went over to Ben and Betty, I wonder why?" I said in confusion as I saw that Kellyn's parents fell asleep already, while Rina was giggling.

"I can explain why! It's because I tend to toss and turn in my sleep, funnily enough, I remember when I was walking in Pueltown one night, I actually overheard a Top Mechanic talking with his teammate about how Ben and Betty would do the same in their beds when he went to repair a laptop in the Pokémon Training Room. I remember mom described all of your friends and I figured that these two must be them!" Rina whispered.

"That's right, they certainly are! It'll be something else if all three of you end up tossing and turning all night! Good night Rina, love you." Kellyn said with a smile.

"Hopefully we don't end up making too much noise moving around, good night bro, love you too." Rina said as she got comfortable and eventually fell asleep.

After Rina fell asleep, I turned to Kellyn with a smile on my face.

"Thanks for being by my side the entire time Luana, that poison was terrifying. Let's get some rest, we're both exhausted. Good night Luana, I love you." Kellyn said with a smile as he cuddled up next to me.

"Kellyn, I'm just so glad you're okay, I will always stay by your side. Good night Kellyn, I love you too." I said as I smiled back at Kellyn.

I drifted off to sleep and was happy knowing that Kellyn was okay and by my side. The next morning when I woke up, I saw Kellyn sleeping next to me. I smiled and took a glance at my Styler, noticing it was 10:34 A.M. and that everyone else was still in the room, aside from Linda and Marcus, though Murph was starting to wake up as Linda walked in the room.

"Hi guys, good morning, did you two have a good rest?" I asked as Murph and Linda walked over to where Kellyn and I were.

"Hi Luana, good morning! We had a great rest, how are you and Kellyn? You two weren't doing so good last night." Murph said.

"Kellyn and I are much better than before, Kellyn's father was able to use a machine that extracted all the poison from his body, while the rope was taken off thanks to Chairperson Erma knowing how. I just hope Kellyn wakes up so we can think of ways to get those Gems back." I said as I looked at Kellyn sadly.

"Don't worry Luana, the most important thing is that you two are safe. That's what matters." Linda said as I smiled at her while Marcus walked in with his Operator headset on, which he switched off upon entering.

"That's true, are you two going to get some breakfast now?" I said as everyone else slowly started to wake up.

"Yeah, we're thinking of getting some breakfast, since everyone's waking up now, I'll go ask them if they'd like to eat." Murph said as he went over to everyone and asked them if they were interested in eating, though judging from some of the rumbling stomachs I heard, I can safely assume that everyone was starving as Murph quickly walked back over to us, as Kellyn started to wake up slowly.

"Well guys, we can eat in here with you if that's okay or we can head to the cafeteria if you two would prefer that." Murph said as Kellyn woke up and yawned, which made everyone turn towards him as they quickly ran over to us.

Kellyn and I were bombarded by hugs from everyone while our Pokémon cuddled up to us, as they were overjoyed we were okay. Seeing everyone so happy made me realize just how dangerously close Kellyn could have gotten to dying.

"Kellyn, we're so relieved you and Luana are okay! Murph filled us in on everything, if you guys are ready, we can go ahead and get some breakfast. If you two are feeling any pain from last night, let us know, we'll be more than happy to help you guys!" Ben said.

"Hahah, we're fine Ben, but thank you! Wait a second, did you say…food?!" Kellyn shouted as he jumped from the bed and ran out of the room.

"Well…at least he still has his appetite!" Betty said as we all laughed while heading out of the room to catch up with Kellyn.

When we headed inside the cafeteria, we saw Kellyn inside patiently waiting, when we all entered and got our plates, Kellyn joined me as we got our breakfast. Afterwards we all sat down and ate, with Kellyn and I finishing our food before everyone else.

"Wow, I'll never know how the two of them can eat so much food so quickly!" Linda said.

"Maybe we're just always hungry!" Kellyn said as everyone chuckled.

As everyone finished their food slowly, we all put our plates where the rest of the unclean dishes went and headed out of the cafeteria.

"Kellyn, Luana, we'll be upstairs in the Operator's Room, if you need anything, just let us know!" Marcus said as Linda gave Murph a quick kiss on the lips as the two of them headed upstairs while Murph sheepishly blushed.

"She's so great, I'm happy I have her." Murph said with a grin.

"We're happy for you Murph! I'm glad you and her are so compatible!" I said.

"Hahah, thank you, I'll be headed upstairs, some Top Mechanics need my assistance with a software update. I'm glad you two made a quick recovery!" Murph said as he waved and headed upstairs.

"Kellyn, Luana, we're also glad that you're both okay. We'll be headed to the Pokémon Training Room, would you like us to take your Partner Pokémon back downstairs for you?" Ben said.

"That would be great Ben, thank you!" I said as Ben and Betty motioned for our Partner Pokémon to come along though Kellyn and I quickly stopped them.

"Also, thanks for helping us out with that little favor, we owe you. Thanks for all of your help as well, you're all great Partner Pokémon." Kellyn whispered as we petted our Pokémon.

"It's no trouble at all guys, we'll be headed downstairs now. See you!" Betty said as she and Ben went downstairs.

"We'll be leaving too son, we'll be heading to work in the next hour or so and Rina is going to be home studying for the Operator's entrance exam which she'll be taking tomorrow as she was accepted early thanks to you being a Top Ranger! Make sure to bring your adorable Pokémon with you!" Mrs. Hajime said.

"We will mom, don't worry. Good luck on your exam Rina, when you take it tomorrow and pass we'll come over to celebrate!" Kellyn said as he gave Rina a hug.

"Thanks bro, I just have a few topics to get a refresher on and then I'm all good for tomorrow!" Rina said.

"Kellyn, if you or Luana need anything, just let us know and we'll help you two out. We'll be leaving now, we wouldn't want to be late! Bye!" Mr. Hajime said.

"Thanks dad, we'll let you know if anything comes up. Bye!" Kellyn said as we both hugged his family, with them going downstairs afterwards.

After Kellyn's family left, it was just us and Sven and Wendy, who happily came up to us.

"Guys, we're contemplating on how to get the Gems back in the Union's possession. Do you think we should ask Chairperson Erma if we can travel any off beaten paths in Almia and see where they could be?" Sven said.

"Hmmm, I think that would be a good idea, but the issue is that Almia is so big and expansive that we would be searching for a while! Perhaps Vatona. Nage or Professor Hastings can think of a way to locate them? Maybe they can create a device, that could be a good solution!" Kellyn said as Wendy and Sven nodded in approval.

"Wow, that's an awesome idea, the only issue is we don't know where their lab is." I said.

"That's a good point…let's ask Chairperson Erma!" Wendy said as we all headed to the third floor, where the Operator's Room was being repaired by several Top Mechanics while Linda and Marcus along with Rhythmi tried their best to work with what they could.

"Wow…this room got trashed horribly, neither of us paid any attention to it because of our injuries, but seeing it now just shows how much damage happened." I said as I looked around the room and saw all the damaged equipment and part of the ceiling on the ground getting carried away by a few Machamp which made the slab of ceiling smaller so it would be easier to carry.

"Yeah, it's a good thing the Top Operators weren't here when the attack happened, it could have become deadly if any of them were in here." Kellyn said as we all nodded, with the Machamp passing us as they headed downstairs.

"Hello dearies, how are you all doing this morning? Kellyn, Luana, I'm glad to see that you two are doing good compared to earlier." Chairperson Erma said.

"Hello Chairperson Erma, good morning. We're all doing well, Kellyn managed to recover from his injuries. We all have a suggestion on how to find the Gems that Ice and Leilani stole." I said.

"Really? Wonderful, I'd love to hear it!" Chairperson Erma eagerly said.

"The plan involved getting the assistance of Professor Hastings, Vatona and Nage to create a device that can pinpoint the exact location of the Gems so that we can infiltrate the base in order to get them back." Kellyn said as Chairperson Erma appeared deep in thought for a moment.

"That's an amazing plan, in fact, Vatona and Nage were discussing of ways to make the Stylers of Top Rangers more powerful by using small pieces taken from each of the Gems. The lab is located right by the rooms for the Top Operators at the very end. This plan could work with them helping out!" Chairperson Erma said as we waved to Marcus, Rhythmi and Linda, who all looked exhausted.

We all gave them a sympathetic smile as we opened the brown door leading to the Top Operator's room and headed to the very end of the hallway where there was the same door we saw previously, though there was a small sign that said it was the Research Lab. Kellyn knocked on the door and a voice that sounded like it was Professor Hastings told us to come in, so we did.

-Kellyn's POV-

Upon entering the room, we saw how organized it was, just like the rest of the Ranger Union, though I couldn't help but assume it would have had paper scattered everywhere filled with notes. We saw Professor Hastings sitting on a table eating a cheese sandwich and he politely motioned for us to come over, which we did so right as he finished eating his sandwich.

"Hello everyone, Chairperson Erma informed me of your situation and I must say that your idea is spectacular. None of us were even able to think of how to locate the Gems, but that plan gives us the motivation to work on a machine that can pinpoint where they are!" Professor Hastings exclaimed.

"Wonderful! Do you have an estimate of how long it would take to create such a device?" I said as Professor Hastings contemplated the question.

"Hmmm, I would say at the most, a week, but I can't say for sure. I'm sorry everyone, I know that you all need to stop Team Dim Sun, but rest assured, we will put everything we can into making a functional device that can pinpoint the locations. Since Vatona and Nage managed to extract a very small piece from each of the three Gems, we can use those and implement them in the machine. Once the gems are back, we'll simply extract another small sample from them to create the powered up Stylers, which can capture a Pokémon whose heart has been consumed by the Shadow Crystal's darkness." Professor Hastings said.

"No worries professor, we appreciate the help. When you can, tell Vatona and Nage that we appreciate the help they're doing as well since everyone in the Ranger Union is important! A Styler that can capture a Pokémon whose heart has been overtaken…that really is something amazing, it could be what takes down Team Dim Sun!" I said happily as Professor Hastings smiled.

"Thank you Kellyn, thank you all for coming. I'll get Vatona and Nage and have them work on the project. When it's done, we'll be more than happy to tell you guys!" Professor Hastings said as we waved and headed back to the Operator's Room, we were about to ask our friends if there was anything we could do for them considering how exhausted they looked, but right when we were about to do so, Chairperson Erma was waving us over.

"She looks happy, that's always nice to see. Perhaps she got some good news, it's definitely possible when considering how we just got some good news!" Luana said as she gave me a quick hug.

"I agree, let's go see what she needs!" I said as we all walked over.

"Hello dearies, I have some great news for the four of you, we have a new Ranger who will be joining us. She's an Area Ranger from Oblivia and she'll be helping us out due to the whole issue with Team Dim Sun. Why don't you all introduce yourselves?" Chairperson Erma said as she stepped to the side, revealing a short woman with orange hair and dark brown eyes who grinned when she saw us.


	38. Chapter 38: Jessica

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon!**

A/N: A filler chapter regarding how suspicious Jessica is behaving.

Chapter 38: Jessica

"Hi there, it's nice to meet all of you, my name's Jessica, what are your names?" Jessica said with a sly grin.

"Hi, my name's Kellyn!" I said.

"Hello, my name is Luana, it's nice to meet you as well!" Luana said as Sven and Wendy looked at each other.

"My name is Wendy and this is my partner, Sven!" Wendy said.

"Aw man, come on Wendy, that's my line!" Sven said as we all chuckled.

"Kellyn, Luana, Wendy and Sven, I'll make sure to remember those names. It's nice to finally meet the Top Rangers that I've heard so much about!" Jessica said.

"Good, you've all been acquainted! Kellyn and Luana, can you two please show Jessica around the Ranger Union? I will need all of you to help me out with organizing some paperwork later which will take some time and require you guys to be separated every so often." Chairperson Erma said as the four of us looked at each other.

"We can get to know Jessica later, Sven and I will see how Murph is doing and if he needs us to help out with something. We'll see you guys later!" Wendy said as they went down the escalator.

"We can show Jessica around if that's okay with you, Kellyn! It would be nice to give her a tour, don't you think?" Luana said.

"Good idea, let's go right ahead. Before we go, Chairperson Erma, did Professor Hastings fill you in on his project?" I said as Jessica quickly gave me an intense gaze, which caught me off guard.

"He certainly did, hopefully it's finished soon! Enjoy showing Jessica around!" Chairperson Erma said with a smile.

"We will, thanks Chairperson Erma!" Luana said as we made our way back over to Marcus, Linda and Rhythmi.

"Hello Marcus, Linda and Rhythmi, we weren't able to check up on you earlier and we really apologize about that. We noticed how exhausted you three look, were you three…up all night?" I said worriedly considering how even though Luana and I said hello to everyone and got hugs from them when we woke up, I never got a close look at Marcus and Linda and how tired they were.

"I'm okay, Keith is doing good aside from the fact that he seems rather troubled about something, I'll ask him what's up on my break…actually, I'll ask Chairperson Erma if I can take that break now." Rhythmi said as she slowly walked over to Chairperson Erma, looking as if she was about to collapse as we turned to Marcus.

"Poor Rhythmi…Marcus, I remember how you and Linda entered the room after everyone was waking up. I could tell that you two were here all night given how tired you all look." I said as Marcus nodded.

"Hi Kellyn and Luana, you're correct, Linda and I headed back here after you and Luana fell asleep and were here assisting distraught Rangers and some Mechanics who saw the smoke coming from the Ranger Union as they were in Pueltown celebrating. Of course, as you both can imagine, word quickly spread on the attack on the Ranger Union and Area Rangers as well as Top Mechanics all around Almia and even some in Fiore and Oblivia started to call us since they wanted to make sure their friends and family were okay. Rhythmi came to help us after we got twenty calls or so and she was more than happy to assist us, after that though, we were just getting call after call for hours." Marcus said.

"That's right…it was awful, everyone we spoke with were hysterical about their friends possibly being killed. It makes sense though, the Operator's Room is in a mess as you guys can see, aside from that, the ceiling on the fourth floor is damaged thanks to Team Dim Sun's raid. What matters is that everyone is okay." Linda said as she started to nod off.

"Wow, you three went through a lot in such a short time…looks like Rhythmi is still asking Chairperson Erma about if she can take a break or not, she looks so dazed…poor Rhythmi." Luana said as I saw Rhythmi struggling to stand while Jessica sat in a corner, looking at the destroyed monitors and other equipment.

"Yeah, let's go see if everything's alright with Rhythmi, she looks like she's going to collapse. Also…Luana, Marcus, Linda, does Jessica seem…off to you? It's like…she's pretending to be friendly, that look she gave me earlier was concerning." I said as everyone nodded their heads.

"She does seem a bit…different, maybe she's a bit taken aback by being in the Ranger Union for the first time?" Linda said.

"Could be…come on Marcus and Linda, it's time you two got a break. You're both overworked." I said as I helped Marcus up while Luana helped Linda to her feet.

We carefully helped our friends over to Chairperson Erma and Rhythmi, with one of their arms draped over our shoulder. As we got closer to the two, I could see that Rhythmi was trying her best to form words but wasn't able to do so. Chairperson Erma gave her a sympathetic smile and then hugged her, which seemed to help Rhythmi a bit.

"Chairperson Erma, can Marcus, Linda and Rhythmi please get some time off? I'm sure as you can tell, but they're all exhausted." I said as Jessica looked at me for a few seconds and then continued looking at the damaged equipment.

"Of course they can, they'll have the rest of the day off to make up for the lack of sleep. Linda, Rhythmi and Marcus, go rest now, you've all earned it!" Chairperson Erma said as all three of them gave her a smile.

"Thank you, we'll be going to sleep now." Rhythmi said as she went over to a large table with a few chairs, sitting down in it as she immediately fell asleep.

"Thanks Chairperson Erma, thank you Kellyn and Luana." Marcus said with a smile as he went to one of the chairs and also sat in it, placing his head on the table.

"We'll be here if any of you need anything. I'm exhausted but if you see Murph, tell him I'll be ready for our date tomorrow." Linda said.

"We will, don't you worry!" Luana said with a smile as Linda gave a thumbs up and walked towards the chair, sitting down in it and promptly falling asleep.

"Those three are such great Top Operators, they're really dedicated to their work, just like the four amazing Top Rangers! This place will be built back good as new in no time as well!" Chairperson Erma exclaimed.

"Yeah, they're really awesome at what they do! Hopefully the Operator's room is back to normal soon, we'll be showing Jessica around, bye Chairperson Erma!" Luana said as we went over to Jessica as she happily got up.

"Ready to go? We'll show you how awesome the headquarters are!" I said.

"There's quite a few facilities, but you'll be able to memorize them all in no time!" Luana said as Jessica smiled.

"Awesome, let's get going then!" Jessica said as we made our way to the escalator and headed to the second floor.

"Okay, so the first place is the cafeteria, self-explanatory, it's also open twenty-four hours in case you're ever hungry!" Luana said as Jessica nodded.

"Twenty-four hours a day huh? Sounds good to me!" Jessica said cheerfully.

"It definitely is. By the way Jessica, I'm curious, what sort of enemies did you deal with in Oblivia? We have Team Dim Sun here and Go Rock Squad in Fiore, but what does Oblivia have?" I said as Jessica appeared deep in thought.

"Well, Oblivia didn't have any teams going against the Rangers, just a few people who would be goofing off, but nothing as dangerous as these Team Dim Sun guys. I'm happy I came here to help as best as I could." Jessica said.

"Wow, Oblivia sounds awesome, you make a good point though, we need all the help we can get, it's great to have you with us, Jessica!" Luana said.

"Yeah, especially since Team Dim Sun is getting more and more dangerous. Rangers, people and Pokémon could get killed by their attacks, we have to stop them." I said.

"That's right, Team Dim Sun is a big threat compared to anything I've faced in Oblivia, it's why I was sent here." Jessica said, though I couldn't help but be very suspicious of her, her smiles and overall demeanor seem like a façade.

"That's true, what things did you do in Oblivia as a Ranger? Sounds like a pretty relaxing place to me considering there aren't many threats there!" Luana said as Jessica started to tense up.

"Well…as a Ranger, I did the same thing you guys do. I addressed the needs of the citizens, helped out Pokémon and that's all there is to it. There wasn't anything else to do but I enjoyed helping the people of Oblivia." Jessica said as I watched her facial expressions, noticing how…angry she seemed by the questions we were asking.

"Ah I see, very cool, I can tell you enjoy being a Ranger very much!" Luana said as Jessica smiled.

"I certainly do, is there anywhere else of interest in the Ranger Union?" Jessica asked.

"Hm, aside from the cafeteria and of course, the Operator's room, there isn't anywhere else in particular that you may need to go at the moment. Would you like to walk around Pueltown for a bit and do some patrol?" Luana said.

"Hmm, sure, that'll be fun! I haven't been to Pueltown yet, the Staraptor dropped me off about an hour ago and I wasn't able to really see anything because of the height!" Jessica said, though she seemed rather disinterested.

"Great, you'll enjoy how awesome Pueltown is! Let's go!" I said as we all headed out of the Ranger Union and walked along the Union Road.

'_This woman…she's making me feel very uneasy, she might be new to the Ranger Union but…I don't trust her at all, she seems like she's planning something nefarious. The entire time that Luana and I asked some basic questions, Jessica only appeared annoyed. Even now, her demeanor just seems to exude her as being ticked off.' _I thought to myself as we entered Pueltown.

"Oh wow, Pueltown is so pretty! There's a lot of people here, is that a marketplace I see?" Jessica said.

"Yes, Pueltown has a few marketplaces set up with some local vendors who sell furniture or food items. The town attracts many people from all over!" Luana said as Jessica smirked.

"Awesome, I'll be exploring here for a while, when I'm done I'll let you guys know!" Jessica said as she ran off, getting lost in the crowd.

"Well…at least we're free of her, I'm sorry Kellyn, but I don't like her, her behavior is very abnormal." Luana said as I breathed a sigh of relief.

"No worries Luana, I feel the same way, she seems like she's been putting on a friendly façade since we first met her. When she smiles, it certainly doesn't seem genuine at all." I said as Luana and I went over to a small bench and set down.

"Yeah, we'll have to keep a close eye on her and also let Wendy and Sven know about her odd behavior so that they're on alert as well. Did you see how annoyed she looked when we were asking her simple questions about her being a Ranger in Oblivia?" Luana asked.

"Oh I remember, she looked so annoyed with us. It's a good thing Chairperson Erma told us her name, otherwise she would have gotten ticked off at us if we asked her." I said as Luana giggled.

"Haha, you're too funny! Was there anywhere you wanted to go see in Pueltown today?" Luana asked as I was deep in thought.

"Hmm, there was this one shop I noticed the last time we went around Pueltown, can we head there?" I said as Luana grinned.

"Of course we can, ready to go when you are!" Luana said as I locked arms with her.

Looking around Pueltown for the small shop was difficult, especially because of how many people were around Pueltown. Thankfully, it wasn't crowded enough to the point where we weren't able to walk at all, it's just that there was such a drastic increase with people enjoying Pueltown, far more than usual. After we walked around for a few more minutes, the shop, which was a small bakery where customers could make their own desserts and then pay at the end, as we headed inside, we were immediately welcomed by the smell of chocolate and berries.

"Welcome to the Chocolate café and bakery! If a wonderful couple such as yourselves are ready to make some lovely desserts, just head on over to that table over there and pick any berries or chocolate that you'd like. My name is Ron and if you two have any questions, just let me know!" Ron said.

"Sounds good Ron, thanks!" I said as we headed over to a nearby table.

"This is a nice little spot, it's a good thing here isn't too crowded! What are you thinking of making?" Luana said.

"Yeah, a bit of peace and quiet is nice, the dessert I'm making is a surprise though!" I said.

"A surprise? Oooh, I like surprises! I'll close my eyes until it's finished, then I'll make my own dessert!" Luana said as she closed her eyes.

"You know, you really are adorable, especially with how your eyes are closed. You're not even covering your eyes with your hands!" I said as Luana giggled.

"Aw, thank you Kellyn, you're just so sweet and handsome! Alright, I'll go ahead and cover my eyes with my hands if you insist!" Luana said as she did so.

Now that Luana had her eyes closed and covered with her hands, it was time to make her dessert. I got a few pieces of milk chocolate along with some cake mix and an Oran berry, which I would put on top of the cake. I went over to Ron with the cake mix since there wasn't an oven anywhere in the store that I could see, as well as the fact that the box was just a simple brown box without any instructions.

"Er, excuse me Ron, I was about to make this cake for my girlfriend and noticed there weren't any instructions on how to make this cake. Usually there would be some basic things like adding Torchic eggs, water, or milk." I said as Ron checked the box and opened it, taking out the cake mix as he inspected it.

"That's a fair point sir, upon close inspection, this cake mix can be made with just a cup of water, it'll make a cake that's about as big as two medium sized cupcakes and doesn't have to be baked. There's a container of filtered water along with some cups that are over there in the corner. We're working on showing the instructions on the box since a few people have already asked about it, sorry about that!" Ron said as I smiled.

"No worries, that's not your fault! Thanks for the help!" I said as I went and got a cup of water.

As I was heading back over to the table, I saw that Luana still had hands covering her eyes, which made me chuckle as I saw how patiently she was waiting. I looked around for anything to prevent the cake from becoming a pancake when the water was added, after looking through some of the small cupboards that were embedded in the table, I found a small heart shaped pan along with a spoon. I quickly added the cake mix and the water and I was about to stir the cake mix until I saw it solidify instantly, after that, I took the spoon to the container and cleaned the spoon just in case the people from last time didn't clean it. After cleaning the spoon, I walked back to the table and I added the Oran berry in the center, along with the chocolate pieces being put around the Oran berry.

'_I may not have made this from scratch, but Luana is so wonderful, that she would still appreciate it regardless.' _I happily thought to myself.

"Luana, I think that you'll love what I made you, you'll have to keep your eyes closed the whole time, though you can take your hands off from your face if you'd like. I'll feed you the dessert, I hope you like berries with chocolate." I said as I felt my face getting hot.

"I'd love anything made by you, I can't wait to taste this dessert! I hope you'll eat some too, I wouldn't feel good knowing I ate all of it when we could share." Luana said as I slightly moved her hands upwards so I could feed her a piece of the dessert.

I went ahead and gave Luana a small piece and fed her some of it, I couldn't help but grin when I saw her eat some of the dessert and smiled even more when I saw her smile back at me.

"Since you're so happy, I guess that means you like it?" I said as Luana giggled, making my heart race.

"Of course I did, can I open my eyes now? I want to see how handsome you look!" Luana said as I gently moved her hands off of her face completely, which made her open her eyes.

"Let's share this dessert, just like you said, it wouldn't be right if you ate all of it!" I said as I winked at Luana.

"I agree, I think sharing something like this would be really great, besides, look at how adorable it is! Good choice having it shaped like a heart!" Luana said as we finished the dessert and headed to the counter to pay.

"Ah the lovely couple finished the dessert? I hope you two enjoyed it, no need to worry about the utensils and pan, we'll wash them later. The total will be fifteen Pokédollars!" Ron said as I paid and we both left the small bakery.

"That was great, the atmosphere was relaxing and enjoyable, but the best thing about going in the bakery was eating something you made. Next time, I'll make you something!" Luana said as she put her arm around my shoulder.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, knowing you're happy makes me happy. It's good that we're able to relax a little before heading back to the Ranger Union to help out with that paperwork." I said.

"That's a good point, we'll have to be heading out of the room several times as well since it'll be quite a lot of paperwork according to Chairperson Erma." Luana said.

"Oh man…that's right, do you want to head back to the Ranger Union now and see if Chairperson Erma would like us to get a head start on getting them organized?" I said.

"Good idea, I'm pretty sure she'll say yes! Let's go ahead and look for Jessica first, she ran off towards one of the marketplaces, hopefully the crowd dispersed a little." Luana said as we made our way back to the main area of the town.

Luana and I looked around for quite a bit, asking various vendors if they saw a woman with orange hair, none of them saw her, so we continued looking for her until I felt a feeling of dread.

"Luana…something…something's bothering me about Jessica. You know how that imposter Rhythmi mentioned a girl named Jessica? What if this Jessica and that Jessica are one and the same? Is it possible that Jessica is only pretending to be working for the Ranger Union? Do you think that it's possible that impostor Rhythmi had a…spy sent here?" I asked as Luana gently turned my head and looked into my eyes.

I could tell that Luana was thinking the same thing I was as she gently unlocked our arms, such as how odd Jessica has been behaving the entire time.

"Kellyn, everything you said is completely true, I feel exactly the same way about Jessica being a spy. Remember when she ran off to explore the area? She didn't seem thrilled like most people would be and this is her first time in Pueltown, so why would she not enjoy the new sights? I remember how happy you looked when you came here with me!" Luana asked.

"That's right, I couldn't stop grinning as you held my hand, that was awesome! As for Jessica when she first met us, she just seemed as if she wanted to look friendly in front of Chairperson Erma. Let's keep looking for her, when we head back to the Ranger Union, we'll keep a close eye on her and also let everyone else know about her behavior too." I said as Luana smiled and nodded.

We continued searching for Jessica and found her sitting down on a bench, when we approached her, she gave us a small wave.

"Hi Jessica, did you get to see all the stores and vendors around here?" Luana asked.

"I certainly did, none of them had anything I liked though!" Jessica said.

"Sorry to hear that, we're headed back to the Ranger Union so we can help Chairperson Erma get a head start on the paperwork she needs us to do. Are you going to come with us or do you want to head back by yourself?" I said as Jessica appeared to be thinking.

"Sure, let's go ahead and go back to the Union! I enjoyed Pueltown a lot!" Jessica said.

"Great, if we start now then we can introduce you to our other friends later on!" I said as we all walked down Union Road.

After doing some walking, we reached the Ranger Union and headed inside, quickly going upstairs to the third floor so that we can meet Chairperson Erma and help her out as soon as possible. As we made our way inside the Operator's Room, I smiled as I saw how it looked much better compared to earlier, with all of the broken equipment being taken out.

"Hi Chairperson Erma, we came back quickly after Jessica explored Pueltown for a bit. We'd like to get started on organizing the paperwork for you if that's okay." I said as Chairperson Erma turned around and smiled, while Jessica went over and looked at the Operator screens.

"Welcome back dearies, Sven and Wendy are downstairs in their room, I'll go ahead and ask them if they can come up to help." Chairperson Erma said as she went to the phone and made an announcement.

"I can only imagine how most of the Rangers would react to hearing that Sven and Wendy have to file away paperwork." Luana whispered to me as I chuckled.

"Sven and Wendy, please come to the third floor, Kellyn, Luana and Jessica are here to help you with filing paperwork." Chairperson Erma said.

Within a few seconds, we heard Sven and Wendy come up the escalator as they happily waved to us.

"Hi guys, we were just about to head up here and prank…I mean…see how Marcus, Linda and Rhythmi were doing!" Sven said as we all grinned.

"Hah, sure you were! By the way Chairperson Erma, where is all this paperwork that needs to be filed?" I asked.

"The room is going to be located where the Operators sleep, it's going to be the fourth door on the left! Sorry to ask the four of you like this, but I trust you four the most out of all the Rangers. Thank you for the help dearies, you're going to be paid once the four of you are finished. There will be some additional money for the four of you as well for the great work you've all done." Chairperson Erma said.

"Don't worry Chairperson Erma, we don't mind at all! We'll get started right away!" I said as we were about to make our way to the room.

"Wonderful, also, the four of you and Jessica will have Murph assisting you! He's already in the room trying to organize some of them!" Chairperson Erma said.

"Murph is going to help us? The more the merrier!" Wendy said as Jessica made her way back to us.

"Alright, sounds good, we're ready to go!" Luana said as we all headed inside the rather large room where it was terrifyingly cluttered with multiple piles of paper stacked high, nearly to the ceiling. There were a few desks and chairs scattered around, but they were nearly impossible to see when considering how much paper was in the room, there were even quite a few papers on the floor.


	39. Chapter 39: The Dangers of Jessica

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon!

A/N: A filler chapter going into detail about Jessica and her odd behavior towards everyone.

Chapter 39: The Dangers of Jessica

"Uh…Murph?! Are you in here? We…can't see you at all." I said as I was looking at the five stacks of paper that looked ready to topple over.

"Wow, these papers shouldn't even be so high up, one of them looks like it's headed right towards us…wait…is that Murph?" Sven said as the giant stack of papers shifted slightly as we saw Murph's happy face pop out from the pile.

"Hi guys! I figured helping you all would be absolutely needed, especially when considering this paperwork could probably cover us completely if it fell over! I already managed to organize a few files and I put it on that clean desk over there." Murph said as he showed us the pile of paper neatly placed on a small desk.

"Thank you Murph, we appreciate it! However, this is an ocean of paper, our bodies might be covered with papercuts when we're done here! Maybe we could tackle one pile at a time?" I said as everyone nodded.

"Yup, that'll work out really well, I always knew you were efficient! Let me take this pile to a receptionist that's going to be up here, she'll put it in a box and take it downstairs where they'll take it to the administration room. Can you guys please do the piles where they'll be thirty-five pages per pile? They have to be organized based on date but thankfully, most of the ones I did had the dates one after another, hopefully yours are like that!" Murph said.

"We definitely will, thanks for the advice Murph!" Wendy said as Murph headed out, with the automatic door opening.

All of us went to work right away on one of the piles, which was at least two hundred pages tall just by looking at it. Organizing them and putting them into piles wasn't too hard, since we had the five of us doing it, but the real issue at first was avoiding the piles of paper on the ground since there wasn't any room on any of the desks as the small desk Murph showed us could only hold two stacks of paper at a time and the papers on the ground kept falling over.

"I got an idea, how about we get rid of these annoying stacks of paper? They're being really bothersome since they're on the ground." I asked.

"That could work, especially since it'll be easier to walk, I don't think falling on this floor would be too fun!" Luana said as we managed to organize a few of the stacks that were on the ground in a few minutes.

"Awesome work guys, we'll take these stacks to the receptionist!" Wendy said as she, Sven and Jessica left the room.

"Good work Luana, this stack is coming along nicely! The room is starting to look much more cleaner too!" I said as Luana grinned.

"Yeah, it's a major improvement compared to earlier. We're already doing pretty good as well." Luana said as we both started to organize more papers when everyone came back in.

"Hi guys…woah! You two managed to do quite a few stacks of paper, nice! I'll bring these to the receptionist." Wendy said as she took the papers out, with Murph, Sven and Jessica helping with the papers we had in front of us.

"This place really does look tidy, it wasn't looking clean before." Jessica said as she handed a stack of papers to Murph, who put them in a box and headed out the door.

"Thanks, we do our best! I wonder how it got to be so cluttered in the first place." I said as Wendy and Murph came back in.

"It's always possible that the receptionists who were supposed to file these away simply didn't want to do it, which leaves us with doing it instead." Jessica said.

"I could see that being the case, they could have all been too preoccupied to organize them, it's not too bad, we're doing really good!" I said as we continued filing paperwork, with Jessica, Wendy, Sven and Murph heading out in a pattern.

After organizing what felt like thousands of papers, we were about halfway done, as Luana was helping me with a couple of stacks of paper, which we put on the larger desk in the center of the room now that it was all cleared up. When I put one of the stacks on the desk, I heard the door open and felt someone tap my shoulder, turning around, I saw that it was Murph.

"Hi Kellyn and Luana, I figured since everyone was working so hard, I would make us some food! I already had it prepared since I knew that you guys would be here for a while, I just had to heat it up! We can wait until Jessica, Sven and Wendy come back in if you'd like since the receptionist had some trouble with putting a few boxes on some shelves." Murph said as he brought the small table over to us and placed down a large tray with a cover over it, right as everyone came back inside.

"Thanks Murph, looks like you're just in time, everyone just finished helping the receptionist!" I said.

"Great! I made food for everyone, let's all take a break and eat!" Murph said as he removed the cover, revealing several plates, utensils, water bottles and the best part, which was carrot and potato stew with rice being separated by a divider.

We all took our own portion and emptied the pot out as we ate our food, happy to have something to eat since we were already halfway done. Checking my Styler, I wasn't too surprised to see that it was already 3:41 P.M., considering that we organized several stacks of paper, it certainly made sense that it would be that time already. After we all finished, Murph collected our utensils, empty water bottles and plates and put them in the tray, taking it outside and running back in shortly afterwards, we quickly resumed working once more and talked while organizing the paper so we can get the work finished faster.

"Thanks for the food Murph, that was delicious!" Luana said as Murph chuckled.

"Thank you, Linda loves my cooking as well, I'm glad that she's always so happy. Remember when she needed some time off and was too scared to ask? Well thanks to you guys, she was able to get some time off, she really enjoyed spending time with all of you. Thanks guys!" Murph said.

"I remember that, I'm glad that Linda had fun with us, it's not good being a workaholic!" I said.

"But Kellyn, every time you get injured, you always try to go back to work!" Wendy said.

"Wendy makes a good point, if you could be up all day, every day, you probably would!" Sven said as we all shared a laugh.

"Oh right…I guess I do have the motivation to work even when I'm sick or injured, just like Luana!" I said as Luana smiled.

"Really?! You're both workaholics?" Jessica asked.

"I certainly am! I always need to have Kellyn right by me whenever I'm sick or injured, otherwise I would still go out to help people and Pokémon despite whatever injuries I might have." Luana said.

"It's a good thing Chairperson Erma lets us stay by our partner's side when that happens! I couldn't imagine leaving Sven's side when he's sick!" Wendy said happily.

"Linda hasn't gotten sick yet, but if she does, I'll do what I can to make sure she recovers quickly. She means a lot to me." Murph said.

"That's very touching Murph! I think that it's always good to stick together, especially when it's someone you truly adore. I guess we're all workaholics when considering how much we'd nurse back our partner back to health no matter how long it takes." I said as we finished a few more stacks.

"You're all so sweet, it's great that you all care so much about the ones you love as well as each other." Jessica said as Murph took a couple of stacks out the door.

"Thanks Jessica! I think that being able to have compassion and respect for others is something that's needed to be a good person." Wendy said as we finished a few more stacks while Murph came back in.

"Wow, guys, you're almost done, good thing we don't need to take these papers outside, it's getting really cloudy outside!" Murph said as Jessica took a few stacks we completed.

"Cloudy, huh? Rain is always good every so often, I can't wait for us to finish!" I said as I saw that we only had one more stack to go.

We all quickly finished the stack and then gave each other a high five, Luana took the stack of paper and left the room. Soon afterwards, we all exited the Operator's sleeping quarters and saw Chairperson Erma smiling at us while Luana walked back over to everyone, I could tell Luana was relieved the paperwork was finished.

"Hi Chairperson Erma, we finished organizing all the paperwork! Is there anything else you need of us?" Luana said.

"Wonderful work dearies! I don't require anything else of you for today! Jessica, you can go rest now if you're tired, glad to have you with the Ranger Union!" Chairperson Erma said as Jessica waved to us and went back downstairs.

"Chairperson Erma, I'll be going with Linda now, if that's okay with you!" Murph said.

"Of course dearie, go right ahead, Linda's where she always is!" Chairperson Erma said as Murph nodded and ran off.

"Man, that paperwork was a lot, I'm glad we have that finished!" I said.

"You all did such a splendid job, it's time for your paychecks! I was going to hand them to you all much sooner, but Team Dim Sun stealing the three gems set it back. Here's a bonus for all of your work!" Chairperson Erma said as she handed us our checks, in a waterproof envelope, though I could still see the salary earned through the envelope's window which made me extremely shocked when seeing the amount.

"One…one hundred and…fifty thousand Pokédollars?! Thank you Chairperson Erma!" I said as Chairperson Erma smiled while I put my check in my pocket.

"No problem, the four of you are Top Rangers for a reason, all four of you are efficient and dedicated to your work. Considering the amazing work you all did in Hippowdon Ruins, I would say you all deserve a rank up, congratulations, you and Luana are now Ranger Rank 8, while Wendy and Sven are now Rank 7 which means you two can now carry five friend Pokémon each! Keith informed me of the marvelous work you all did and how you all saved his life! Chairperson Erma said as all of us were surprised, while Marcus, Murph and Linda were just as stunned.

"You're…you're welcome, it was Kellyn and Luana's idea, we merely went along considering how dangerous it was." Wendy said.

"I was wondering how come Ben and Betty were talking to me about inventory, Murph was explaining the efficiency of wind power for the Ranger Union, though Murph's idea is a rather good one, I'll have to look into that. Aside from that, all of you did wonderfully, the receptionists were quite happy with how organized the paperwork was done." Chairperson Erma said.

"We all work great together, is there anything else you would like us to help you out with?" Luana asked as Chairperson Erma shook her head.

"There's nothing that needs to be done at the moment. Professor Hastings, Vatona and Nage are working on some prototypes to locate those stolen gems. However, I also need to give all of you these Ranger cards to put in your wallets." Chairperson Erma said as she handed each of us a Ranger card with our Rank, name and photo where we put them in our wallets.

"Awesome! These IDs are amazing! I think that professor Hastings, Vatona and Nage know what they're doing, they'll make that device in no time! We'll be headed downstairs for a bit. Kellyn, Luana, if you two need anything, you know where we'll be!" Sven said as they headed downstairs.

"Oh, Chairperson Erma, there was something I was curious about. Since every Ranger has a partner, who's going to be Jessica's partner now that she's with us?" I said as Chairperson Erma was deep in thought.

"That's a good point dearie, hmm, perhaps I could pair her up with an Area Ranger, such as Crawford, or perhaps a Top Ranger would be better suited for her, such as Keith!" Chairperson Erma said.

'_No…she's been acting suspicious since she's got here. I don't know what her intentions are…but I'm still worried about Jessica hurting them.' _I thought to myself.

"Actually Chairperson Erma, would it be possible for Jessica to work with us? If Luana's okay with it, we could be a team of three." I said as Chairperson Erma smiled.

"That's a great idea, she'll still be in her own room of course, so don't worry about that! Hopefully she warms up to you all soon, she seems to be rather distant of the four of you." Chairperson Erma said as I felt my face get hot.

"She'll like us eventually! Thanks Chairperson Erma, we'll be heading downstairs now!" Luana said as we both made our way to the first floor and headed inside our room.

"Hmm, well…now that we got our checks, do you think we should send some to our families?" I said as I took out my check while Luana did the same.

"Good idea, I'll send some to my brother too. We'll have to go to Pueltown Bank, I never did show you there, did I?" Luana said as I shook my head with a smile.

"Haha, no you didn't, but we can head out now if you'd like. It's about to rain but we'll just put these checks in our pockets." I said as we headed out of the Ranger Union, where we bumped into Linda and Murph near the entrance.

"Hi guys! You guys were about to head out too? Seems like everyone got paid today!" Murph said.

"Yup, we're headed to Pueltown's bank, do you guys want to go together?" Luana said as Murph and Linda nodded.

We jogged through Union Road and made our way to Pueltown within a matter of minutes, noticing how the sky was still dark and cloudy, I quickly looked around for the bank.

"Don't worry Kellyn, just follow me, I know where the bank is!" Luana said as we all followed her to the main part of town, finding Pueltown Bank between a barber shop and a spa.

As we entered, I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that there wasn't anyone in line and some of the bank tellers were simply talking to each other. As we approached the counter, one of the tellers walked up to us with a smile on his face.

'_Since I won't need this much money, I'll give it to my parents and Rina. They'll appreciate it!" _I thought to myself.

"Hi there, good afternoon to you, my name's Tom. How can I help you today?" Tom said as everyone let me go ahead.

"Hello Tom, I'd just like to cash this check please." I said as Tom took the check and inspected it.

"Wonderful! I'd just like to see some identification please." Tom said.

"Sure, here you go!" I said as I showed Tom my Ranger card, which made his eyes widen in surprise as Luana giggled from his reaction.

"T-Top Ranger Kellyn?! So the woman with the black hair is Luana, and the two behind you are Murph and Linda, the Ranger Union's PR manager and a Top Operator! Everyone has heard all about you guys from the work you've done. Sorry for not recognizing any of you at first!" Tom said.

"That's not a problem Tom!" I said as Tom gave me the one hundred and fifty thousand Pokédollars, after I put the money in my wallet, I thanked Tom and stepped to the side so that Luana could go next.

"Hi there, I'd like to transfer fifty thousand to my brother and one hundred thousand to my parents please!" Luana said as Murph and Linda stepped out of earshot as she gave Tom the account numbers of her family, after she finished, she went with me as we both walked to the back so that Murph and Linda can conduct their transactions privately since they did the same with us.

"We really do think alike, I'm going to give this money to my family, they'll need it." I said as Luana smiled.

"That's very considerate of you, you're so sweet! After Murph and Linda are finished with depositing or transferring their money, I was thinking we could just head back to the Ranger Union since rain could probably fall at any time, at the same time, I'd really like to hang out with Murph and Linda. Which one would you prefer to do?" Luana asked.

"Hmm, how about we hang out with Murph and Linda and spend some time with them? You know, talking, laughing and just having a good time would be nice!" I said as Luana smiled and hugged me.

"Good idea, they're already coming back, let's ask them once we leave the bank." Luana said as Murph and Linda walked over to us.

"Hi guys, sorry we took so long, I made sure to send my dad some money so he can conduct more research on the various Pokémon in Shiver Camp and the surrounding areas." Murph said.

"I went ahead and gave my money to my parents since they're currently trying to renovate their house here in Pueltown." Linda said.

"That's awesome, helping out family is always a great thing to do! You two didn't take long at all though and even if you did, we wouldn't mind waiting! Now that we're done here, would the two of you like to hang out? I know that it's most likely going to rain soon, but it would be nice to head somewhere to just sit down, relax and talk for a bit, since there's nothing else we really have to do at the moment. Would that be something you guys would like to do?" I said as Murph and Linda smiled.

"Of course, that sounds like fun! Did either of you have anywhere in particular that you'd like to go?" Luana asked.

"Well, there is this one place that's nearby that has a couple of benches surrounded by a few flowers, there's also a gazebo that'll keep us protected from the rain. We can head there if you guys would like!" Linda said.

"That sounds pretty nice, let's head over there!" I said as we all exited the bank.

As we exited the bank, Linda led us to the place which was about thirty feet from the bank. We all entered and were glad that the gazebo was there, since it started to rain a few seconds after we made our way underneath it.

"Whew, good thing we knew about this place, otherwise we'd be soaked by now!" Murph said as we sat down on the benches, while the red and white tulips got a few drops of rain since the gazebo was big enough to block most of the downpour.

"That's true, since we'll be here for a while, we can start talking and just enjoy ourselves! Linda, if I may ask, what made you want to become an Operator?" Luana said as Linda smiled.

"I'm glad you asked, Luana! I decided to become an Operator because to me, being a Ranger would be really fun, but incredibly scary and dangerous! I couldn't see myself as a Mechanic, I would probably break things more than fix them! I figured that helping Rangers with any sort of dangerous Pokémon or providing them updates on the area up ahead would really help them out." Linda said sheepishly.

"Wow, that's really awesome, Linda! You're great at what you do and you know how to keep calm when helping a Ranger out, that's extremely important!" Luana said.

"Thank you Luana, that means a lot! At first, I didn't think I was a good Top Operator, but thanks to everyone, I realized that I am!" Linda said as Murph smiled at her.

"That's right, you're always so helpful to everyone, you definitely know what you're doing!" Murph said as Linda blushed.

"That's really sweet, you two are really great for each other. Murph, how did you end up being the Ranger Union's PR manager? It sounds like a very interesting job!" I asked as Murph smiled.

"I remember I got the job after Chairperson Erma liked how well I worked with the public and gave speeches. I was once a Ranger in Fiore for some time and then eventually got transferred to Oblivia. However, I was quite clumsy as a Ranger, one day, the Ranger base leader in Oblivia wanted me to talk about the villainous teams that were in the Fiore and Oblivia regions considering I encountered both of them. Chairperson Erma was at my speech along with Professor Hastings and the two of them loved my speech so much that they asked me to work in Almia as the Ranger Union's PR manager. Of course, I said yes right away." Murph said.

"Wow, that's amazing! It's really awesome that Chairperson Erma and Professor Hastings thought your speech was so great that they wanted you to work with them in Almia! Did you like Fiore or Oblivia as much as Almia?" I asked as Murph grinned.

"They were nice, but I love Almia much more, the people here are far more nicer compared to either of those two regions. Speaking of Oblivia, didn't Jessica say she was a Ranger there? Something about her troubles me." Murph said.

"Yeah, she seems extremely suspicious, Murph saw her when she went downstairs and talked with her for a little bit, yet he told me it was as if she was just always annoyed whenever he spoke." Linda said.

"Wow, she appeared to be that way with us too, very angry or even annoyed at us for simply being friendly. Even if she's distant, there's no reason to be so cold." I said as everyone nodded.

"I still don't understand why, I would assume it's because she was up the entire time flying from Oblivia to Almia but then it would simply make more sense for her to not take a tour of the Ranger Union or go with us to Pueltown, she would have just gone to bed." Luana said.

"That's a good point, but Jessica told me that she was asleep the entire time on the way here. She explained to me that after she took off on the Staraptor, she eventually dozed off and when she woke up, she found herself about to land near the Ranger Union. Linda and I were thinking about her odd mannerisms, I would understand if we angered her or were rude to her and she responded in that way, but we were never rude to her, so it just makes no sense to me." Murph said.

"I know, Luana and I think that Jessica was a spy, we didn't mention it to Sven or Wendy at the time because Jessica was there and of course, we couldn't do it as we were organizing those papers because she could have come in. What do you guys think?" I asked as Murph and Linda listened intently.

"It could be possible that she's a spy, it does explain her odd behavior, at first I was assuming she was nervous or something upon meeting you guys but then that wouldn't explain why she appears to get frustrated when you guys talk with her." Linda said.

"Hmmm, that's a good point Linda, if she was nervous or afraid of being around new people, she wouldn't really talk at all, or would be very quiet. But it bothered me whenever I spoke with her, because she was constantly frustrated with me and seemed to force a smile when I said goodbye. It was very strange to me." Murph said.

"Yeah, you're both right. I asked Chairperson Erma if she can work with Luana and I, since it would be a bit troubling if she were going to be partnered up with someone else, you know?" I said as we all got up and started walking towards Union Road since the downpour became a drizzle.

"Exactly, I can understand that! I remember how Jessica only appeared to be nice when she was introduced to you guys and if she really is a spy, then it's even more scary with how she's trying to be friendly." Linda said.

"We should talk with Wendy and Sven about her, just in the event that they didn't notice Jessica's mannerisms. It looks like we're here at the Ranger Union already, we can all go to their room if you guys are interested!" Murph said.

"That's a good idea, how does that sound to you, Kellyn?" Luana asked.

"Sounds like a great idea to me, let's go!" I said as we all entered the Ranger Union and headed to Sven and Wendy's room.

As usual, we squeezed on their Eevee toy and Sven answered the door shortly afterwards.

"Hi guys, please come in!" Sven said as he opened the door to allow us to enter, which he closed once Linda entered.

As the door closed, Wendy happily walked over to us since she was sitting on the sofa and ushered us to sit down, which everyone did.

"Hello guys, it's nice to see all of you! I assume that you guys wanted to talk about Jessica?" Wendy said as we all looked at each other while Sven walked over and sat down next to Wendy.

"Yes, we did. You and Sven found her behavior odd as well?" Linda said as Wendy and Sven nodded simultaneously.

"We certainly did, she seemed to be angry at us whenever we tried talking to her. It's really frustrating because we'd just like to be friends with her but she's been like this since she's got here." Sven said.

"Kellyn and I were under the impression that she was sent here to get information about the Ranger Union and its operations, perhaps she was a spy sent from Team Dim Sun?" Luana asked as I shook my head.

"That's what I think, I've never seen anyone seem so annoyed when meeting new people, nervous or shy, sure, but never angry." I said.

"We think she's a spy too, she seems unwilling to want to be friendly with anyone." Sven said.

"Yeah, and while that alone doesn't make her a spy, it's a bit concerning to say the least." Luana said.

"Exactly, the reason I feel that she's a spy isn't just because of her behavior, but also because of how she arrived right after the gems were stolen. I know that Chairperson Erma said that Jessica came from Oblivia to assist us, but…wouldn't it make more sense to get any reserve Rangers or active Rangers right here in Almia?" I said.

"Yeah, that does seem suspicious to me, I'm sure Chairperson Erma may have had a good reason for having a Ranger from Oblivia come here despite there being other Rangers who could be just as helpful. We'll all keep a close eye on her in case she tries to harm you guys." Wendy said as we soon heard heavy rain.

"Thanks guys, we appreciate it. Since it's starting to rain again, is it okay if we all stay here and just relax for a bit? It wouldn't be good to explore anywhere in this rain." Luana said as Wendy nodded.

"Of course, feel free to stay here! Do you guys want any snacks?" Wendy said as we were about to answer, though we heard the Eevee toy getting squeaked, which startled us.

Sven went to open the door and we all saw that it was Marcus, who was allowed into the room.

"Hi Marcus, good to see you. What's wrong? Are you doing okay?" I said as Marcus sat down, with his hands noticeably shaking.

"Well…after you guys left, Chairperson Erma needed me to help Jessica with something, she was in the cafeteria trying to help out the chefs with cleaning the kitchen area up, we had to clean the walk-in freezer next and when it was just Jessica and I, she kissed me. I was surprised she did that and when I saw her expression, I was terrified. She had a rather ominous looking glare as she smirked and simply walked out of the freezer, not saying anything, and I did the same shortly afterwards. It's a good thing Jen wasn't here, Jessica wouldn't have been smirking." Marcus said.

"Tell Chairperson Erma about Jessica, she'll believe you. Jessica has been acting strange since she's got here, we'll come with you if you need the support." Luana said.

"Ah…thanks, let me tell Chairperson Erma, can you guys come with me?" Marcus said.

"Of course we will, let's go before Jessica tries anything!" I said as we all got up and headed up to Chairperson Erma.

"Chairperson Erma, Marcus needs to tell you something urgent." Sven said as we ushered Marcus towards Chairperson Erma.


	40. Chapter 40: Paintings and Joy

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!**

Chapter 40: Paintings and Joy

"H-huh?! But I didn't help out at all!" Marcus said in confusion.

"I would say that you helped out a lot, you telling us about Jessica was important and staying with us while we sneak attacked her was great as well. She could have easily had a trick up her sleeve and escape, but you were there to help us along with our Pokémon." I said.

"Exactly, another thing is that you and Murph helped Sven and Wendy hold Jessica down, I'd say that's pretty helpful!" Luana said.

"Hahah, I certainly feel much better now, thanks guys!" Marcus said.

"No problem, are you going to be doing anything once we're done here? Or are you going to head back to the Operator's Room or something?" I asked.

"I think I'll just head back to my room now, I'm feeling rather exhausted today. I wanted to keep you guys company in the mean time but I was actually thinking of heading back upstairs and getting some rest!" Marcus said.

"Thanks Marcus, that sounds good. Thanks for everything!" Luana said as Marcus waved and headed out the room.

"You guys are so nice, Ben and I are really glad for that." Betty said with a smile.

"Oh it's nothing, it's always good to be nice to those who deserve it!" I said.

"We were actually going to thank you guys for helping us distract Chairperson Erma, we really appreciate the help you guys were! Kellyn and I have to go now, but we'll try to think of doing something nice for you guys!" Luana said.

"Anytime guys, we were doing whatever we could to stall her. We appreciate the kindness, but you guys don't have to do that, being friends with you two is more than enough! Bye guys!" Ben said as we waved and headed out of the room, walking towards our room and heading inside.

"Kellyn, you did some awesome work today!" Luana said as I smiled.

"So did you, I'm glad we were able to get Jessica before she took that device with her. I can't believe that she tried kissing Marcus and then tied up Chairperson Erma as well, that's just insane!" I said as I plopped on the bed.

"I know, I'm glad that everyone is okay and didn't end up getting hurt or killed, I hope that Vatona, Nage and Professor Hastings are okay, though Jessica didn't say anything about her harming them." Luana said as she quickly went into the bathroom and changed off into her pajamas.

"That's a good point, they'll be fine though, Chairperson Erma will check up on them. On another note, I'm really tired sweetheart, I'm thinking of taking a quick nap, want to join me?" I asked as Luana immediately got on the bed and snuggled close to me.

"Of course I will! Let me cover you up so you're nice and warm." Luana said as she covered both of us.

"Thanks Luana…I'm already feeling…sleepy." I said as I kissed Luana on the lips, my eyes closing almost immediately after doing so.

I woke up and rubbed my eyelids and I was about to sit up until I felt myself unable to move and I immediately knew that it was because Luana was next to me on my left, peacefully sleeping as she wrapped herself around me, with her face right next to mine.

'_I want to give Luana a nice gift, like a bouquet of flowers or candy…hmmm, maybe I can slowly move from Luana's grasp so I can go out and get something for her. Luana and I can pick up items for everyone else as well as thanks for their help later today.' _I thought to myself as I tried carefully moving from Luana's grip, I was barely able to do so until I heard some mumbling.

"Kellyn…please stay…" Luana muttered as I was about to remove the blanket.

_'Well…looks like I'll be here with Luana, which is great to me! I'll just try leaving a bit later in the evening.' _I thought as I checked my Styler, noticing it was only 7:30 P.M.

I got myself comfortable and drifted off to sleep, though eventually, I found myself again waking up. Looking to my left once more, I saw that Luana's grip wasn't as strong as before and slipped from her grasp as I was able to make my way to the door and smiled when I saw how peaceful she looked. Right before I left, I went back to the bed and kissed her forehead and looked around for a piece of paper and a pen so that Luana would that I'll be back soon. After opening a drawer, I found a notebook and a pen and wrote down that I'll be out getting some gifts and I will be back soon, afterwards, I placed the notebook on top of the nightstand.

"Don't worry Luana, I'll be back soon. Sleep tight." I said as I headed out of the room and walked out of the Ranger Union, heading through Union Road slowly.

_"Now that I'm on the way to Pueltown, it's time to think of what gifts to get Luana. Luana and I can come to Pueltown later and get Sven and Wendy's gifts, along with gifts for Murph, Linda, Ben, Betty and Marcus and address them as being from both of us. Hmm, it's still early, it's 8:47 P.M., so most stores are going to be open. It's not hard to imagine what Luana would like from me, knowing her, she'd like anything I get her…but I want it to be special." _I thought to myself as I entered Pueltown.

"Good, there's lots of guards and Rangers patrolling tonight. I wonder if any of these open stores have any flowers for sale." I said as I looked inside of one store that didn't have anything I was interested in.

I continued walking around Pueltown, looking for shops that might have something good while also doing patrol at the same time. Though there might be a lot of Rangers and guards out now, having an additional person on the lookout can be helpful, even for only a short while.

As I looked around town, trying to find a decent store, I saw the Pokémon café was closed and knew that since here is usually one of the more lively places during the day, there had to be something good in this area. Despite ten or so stores being closed on this one block, there were several other stores open and as I was walking to one store in particular that looked really interesting, I saw Murph walking around.

_'It'd be great to walk with someone to have a conversation with, especially given the time and how I wouldn't be as lonely. At the same time, Murph may just want some time to relax by himself. Actually, perhaps I should ask him, maybe he'd want some company!' _I thought to myself as Murph walked a bit closer.

"Hi Murph! Good evening, how are you doing?" I said as Murph turned to me as we both walked over to each other.

"Hi Kellyn, I'm glad to see you! I'm doing good, though it's a bit dark around here, even with the lights of some stores being on, it still creeps me out. I was actually checking a few stores since I was looking for something nice to get Linda, I saw you walking around and I thought that asking you to walk with me would be a good idea." Murph said.

"Good to see you too, Murph! It's funny you said that, because I was trying to get a good gift for Luana and I just noticed you walking around as well! I thought you wanted some alone time but I'm glad I asked you!" I said.

"Awesome! Did you see any good stores around here? Linda isn't too picky with what she'd like as a gift, I just want to make sure that it's unique or at least special, you know?" Murph said.

"I completely understand that, you want something that shows her that the gift you get her is as unique as she is, right?" I asked as Murph grinned.

"That's exactly right! I know that Linda wouldn't mind getting any gift from me, but I still want it to be something nice. What about Luana, is there anything in particular that you're thinking of getting her?" Murph asked.

"That makes sense, I think that shows you really care a lot about her. I would say the same goes for Luana and I, she would appreciate getting any gift from me, but I want to make sure it's something simple, yet sophisticated, you know?" I asked.

"Oh I get that! How about we head into this store over here? Maybe there's going to be something good in here!" Murph said as we approached a store simply named Pokémon Paintings.

"It doesn't look too bad, let's go in, they won't close for another couple of hours!" I said as we entered the store.

Upon entering, we saw that it was a medium sized store and that there was quite a lot of nice selections to choose from and while some of them looked really great, nothing really seemed unique.

"Hi there, welcome to Pokémon Paintings, my name is Lisa. How can I help you two?" A woman said from behind us, which promptly made Murph and I turn around in surprise, mainly because we didn't see anyone at the register or elsewhere in the store.

"Hello there, we were looking for a small painting to give to our girlfriends, do you happen to do custom work?" Murph said as Lisa smiled.

"We certainly do, it'll take only a few minutes as there's a team of Aipom and Ambipom working to get them done quickly while also making sure that they're perfect. We can use the backgrounds that we already have or you can come up with your own. If you don't have a photo of the one you want to include in your painting, our Espeon can see what they look like using its Psychic powers. Our paintings are also waterproof as well!" Lisa said.

"That sounds awesome! Kellyn, is it okay if I go first?" Murph asked.

"Not a problem Murph, go ahead!" I said.

"Thanks! Hmm…what to pick as a design…ah, I got it! I'm thinking of the setting being the beach, with Linda and I huddled close to each other, relaxing in the sun surrounded by Azurill and her Sandshrew. I'd like it to be 8" by 8" please." Murph said as the Espeon came up and nuzzled us softly.

"Very nice, Espeon already has an idea of what Linda looks like. I'll get the template and then I'll have the Aipom and Ambipom do their thing. One moment please!" Lisa said as she and her Espeon went and got a beach background, running to the back.

"Wow, that was quick. This place is nice, it's a good thing the wait time won't be too long either!" Murph said.

"I know, that really was quick service! I think for my painting, I'll choose somewhere with flowers as Luana and I lie down and admire one another. I may do another design but either way, I think it'll come out pretty nice!" I said.

A few minutes later, Lisa came back out with the painting drawn exactly like how Murph described.

"That looks fantastic, thank you very much!" Murph said.

"No problem, what would you like for your painting, sir?" Lisa asked.

"I'd like a painting with me and Luana lying down in a field of tulips as we gaze into each other's eyes. Here's what she looks like." I said as I took out my wallet, showing the photo to Lisa who looked at it as she smiled.

"Wonderful, you two look great together, I'll get started on it right away!" Lisa said as she scurried to the back.

"Woah Murph, your painting looks awesome! It's really detailed, Linda will be really happy when she sees it!" I said as Murph smiled.

"Thanks Kellyn, I'm surprised by how quick it took for it to finish!" Murph said as Lisa came back and showed me the painting.

"Here you go, just as you described, you and Luana lying down surrounded by all sorts of tulips, with both of you adoring each other. Do you like how it looks?" Lisa said.

"Yes, this looks amazing! We'd like to pay for these please." I said.

"Not a problem, I'll ring you guys up over here!" Lisa said as we headed over to the register.

"I like how quick the service was, mind if I meet the group of awesome Pokémon that made these paintings?" I asked.

"Sure, give me a moment. Aipom, Ambipom, can you all come out here please?" Lisa said on the intercom as we saw the Pokémon come out from the door behind the register.

Taking a look at the room, I saw how neat and clean it was, with a number of food bowls and bags of Pokémon food. Though I'm glad I saw the Pokémon that made the drawings, my main reason for doing so was making sure they weren't being abused or ill-treated.

"They're adorable, glad we could see them!" Murph said as the Pokémon happily went back in the room.

"No problem! The total for both paintings will be two thousand Pokédollars, please." Lisa said as I took out my wallet.

"Are you sure Kellyn? I can pay for it." Murph said.

"Oh that's okay Murph, I insist!" I said.

"Ah, I almost forgot to show the waterproof effect!" Lisa said as she took a small cup of water and splashed them on both paintings, though just as she stated, it didn't damage either one and simply rolled off the canvas.

"Very cool! Two thousand Pokédollars is a good price!" I said as I paid for both of the paintings.

Lisa put each of them in a plain white box and then put both of them in a bag which she tied up.

"Have a good evening gentlemen, your girlfriends are going to love those paintings!" Lisa said as I took the bag.

"Thanks Lisa, we're certain they will!" Murph said as we left the store.

"Nice, we got something really nice. Do you want to pick up anything else before we head back to the Ranger Union?" I asked.

"Hmm, good question, maybe we can pick up some dessert for Linda and Luana?" Murph said.

"That'll be great, let's go ahead and do that! The Chocolate café and bakery is closed now, do you know of anywhere else nearby?" I asked.

"I do! It's called the Dessert Express, which is by the marketplace! They won't close until 2 A.M., so we can still get something good, ready to go?" Murph said.

"I definitely am, lead the way!" I said as I followed Murph.

After a few minutes of walking, I saw the Dessert Express, which looked rather nice from the outside as the exterior was made of brick while the store sign illuminated brightly. As we headed inside, I saw that the place was nice and bright, with glass shelves on the left hand side while the register was at the back. The entire floor and the ceiling had a nice design with different shades of brown while the walls were a nice cream color. As we approached the selection of desserts, a young man with brown hair popped out from under the counter.

"Hello there, welcome! My name is Derek, is there any particular dessert that you two are looking for?" Derek said.

"You can go ahead Kellyn! I'll be looking at which dessert Linda might like." Murph said.

"Thanks Murph! Hello there Derek, I'm looking for a dessert that has chocolate ganache and some incorporation of vanilla. I'm thinking of getting a slice for my girlfriend and a small cake for my family." I said.

"Wonderful! We have this one, it's called the Sweet Surprise! It's a vanilla cake with thin layers of chocolate ganache with a thing layer of chocolate frosting. Would you like a sample?" Derek said.

"Yes please, I'd appreciate that a lot!" I said as Derek handed me a small sample.

The cake tasted really nice, it was light and airy and it wasn't anything basic at all.

"Wow, that tastes amazing, I'd like one of your ten by ten circular cakes as well as a slice in a separate box." I said as Derek put the cake in their boxes.

As he was doing so, I looked over to my left and saw Murph checking all the different cakes and other desserts for sale.

"Ah, this one looks really good. Strawberry cake with layers of vanilla and pieces of strawberries baked in." Murph said.

"That one looks good, the vanilla looks like it'll compliment the strawberries really well. Is that the one you're thinking of getting?" I said as Derek came back.

"You got it! Linda will love this one! Derek, I'd like two slices of this cake please." Murph said.

"Sure thing, if you two are ready, I'll go ahead and ring you both over here!" Derek said as we headed over to the register.

"Nice place you picked Murph, how'd you find it?" I asked.

"I actually saw this place a week ago, it looked rather nice and I told myself I'd try getting some dessert from here!" Murph said as we got our desserts ringed up.

"Awesome, good thing we were able to get some dessert from here after all! Thanks for being patient with us Derek, sorry if we took long!" I said as Derek put our desserts in separate bags.

"Not at all, you guys are by far the best customers I've had! By the way sir, there's a twenty percent discount for Rangers. Your total is going to be one hundred Pokédollars." Derek said.

"Thanks for the discount! Here's one hundred Pokédollars, have a good night Derek!" I said as Derek smiled.

"Thank you, anyone who eats those cakes will love them. Hope you two have good evenings as well!" Derek said as we exited the Dessert Express with Murph holding his dessert while I held mine.

"Now that we got everything, let's head back to the Ranger Union!" I said as Murph and I jogged back to the Ranger Union.

After jogging for a few minutes, Murph and I made it back to the Ranger Union and headed to the receptionist counter as no one was there.

"Alright, before I forget, here's your painting!" I said as I handed Murph his painting.

"Thank you Kellyn, it was nice to hang out with you. I'll be giving Linda the painting and the dessert tomorrow, I think she'll be really happy with it." Murph said.

"I agree, it was fun! Linda will definitely be happy with what you'll be giving her. I'll be giving mine to Luana as well, I'll be headed to bed Murph, good night!" I said.

"Sounds good, Luana is going to be pretty excited then! Good night Kellyn!" Murph said as he headed upstairs.

_'Murph is so nice, I'm glad that he's the PR manager, though I hope that he doesn't let the job stress him out too much. Time to put this dessert in the fridge, Luana and my family are going to love it. I think I'll put the painting in the dresser where it'll be safe for the night.' _I thought to myself as I headed inside the room.

As I headed inside, I saw Luana still asleep in the same position as she was when I left. I quietly took off my shoes and went over to the dresser, putting the painting inside where it was still inside its box, while I went and put the cake and the separate slice inside the fridge.

After I did so, I went back to the dresser and got my pajamas, changing into them quickly as I got into bed, where I immediately gave Luana a hug as she slept and as I got comfortable next to her, I hugged me even tighter than before as I felt myself happily drift off to sleep.

I woke up the next morning to see Luana nuzzled close to me, though after a few seconds, her eyes opened as she slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Good morning Luana, did you have a good rest?" I asked as Luana looked at me and smiled.

"Good morning Kellyn, I certainly did!" Luana said.

"Awesome, did you have anything planned for today?" I asked as Luana thought for a moment.

_'I know Luana is exhausted from all the work we've been doing recently, especially regarding that terrifying spy, Jessica. I would like to go congratulate Rina at my house when she passes her entrance exam and I'm pretty sure Luana would want to do the same thing, though Luana might want to do something beforehand.' _I thought to myself.

"Hmm, I'd like to go to your house so you and I can congratulate Rina on her entrance exam, I know that she's most likely taking the test now, but she really seems focused on being an Operator so I'm certain she'll pass!" Luana said.

"Thank you sweetheart! You have no idea how happy I am to have your support, my family is your family after all!" I said as I hugged Luana tightly.

"Aw, you're welcome, Kellyn, my family appreciates you too. Let me go ahead and get ready! I won't take long!" Luana said as she ran to the dresser and took her uniform, not noticing the painting.

I decided to call my mom and noticed that the time was 11:52 A.M., I hoped that she wasn't too busy as I figured that I would ask her when Rina's exam would be finished, after a few seconds, my mother picked up.

"Hello Kellyn, how are you?" Mom asked.

"Hi mom, I'm doing good, I hope you're doing well. I was calling to see if Rina mentioned anything about what time her exam will be finished, I figured that I would call her, but she might still be taking the test. Luana and I are planning to head over to the house if that's okay." I said.

"No worries son, you and Luana are more than welcome to stop by! Rina's exam was earlier this morning, Rina already told me the results but you'll have to call her in order to find out! Bye son, love you, I'll see you and Luana later!" Mom said.

"Aw, I was hoping you'd tell me! Alright mom, we'll be over there soon, love you too!" I said as I hanged up and called Rina, who picked up right away.

"Hi Rina, I wanted to call and see how you're doing, how did your exam go?" I asked.

"Hi bro! I just took the exam, I passed it!" Rina said.

"I knew you would, congratulations sis! Are you headed home now?" I asked.

"Yup, I'm on my way home now, I'll be taking my classes to work as an Operator starting next month!" Rina said.

"That's great Rina, I'm so proud of you! Luana and I are coming over to celebrate and we'll be there soon, love you!" I said.

"Great, I'm excited to see you two! Love you too bro, bye!" Rina said as she hanged up as Luana came out of the bathroom.

"Hi Luana, all finished?" I asked as Luana smiled.

"Yup, I'm ready to head out once you're done! Did you find out if Rina finished taking her exam?" Luana asked.

"I did! Rina passed her exam and she's on her way home right now." I said.

"That's awesome! I'll be waiting here for you." Luana said with a smile as I got my uniform and headed in the bathroom, coming out after ten minutes or so.

"Alright, I'm ready to go, how do I look?" I asked.

"You look hot as always!" Luana said as we exited the room.

"Really? Haha, thanks, I know for a fact that I'm not as hot as you!" I said as Luana and I headed out of the room and went inside the Pokémon Training Room.

"Hi Betty, how are you?" Luana said as Betty smiled.

"I'm doing good Luana, how are you and Kellyn doing today?" Betty asked.

"We're doing great, thanks for asking!" Luana said.

"We certainly are, Luana and I were here to pick up our Partner Pokémon today." I said as our Partner Pokémon happily ran over to us.

"Alright, not a problem! They've already been fed and trained, did you guys need anything else?" Betty asked as I looked around for Ben.

"Yes, just one thing, do you know where Ben is? Usually he'll be here or pop out from the back room, is he doing okay?" I asked.

"Ben is okay, he's currently visiting his family for today, though he'll be back by tomorrow morning." Betty said.

"Awesome, thank you Betty, have a good day!" I said.

"Bye Betty, we'll see you later today, have a great day!" Luana said.

"Thanks guys, bye!" Betty said as we exited the room with our Pokémon, who were all absolutely thrilled to be with us.

"Oh, Luana, I need to get something from the bedroom, give me just a moment, okay?" I said as Luana smiled at me.

"Sure sweetheart, take your time, I'll be out in the hallway with the Pokémon." Luana said.

"Alright, I'll be quick!" I said as I ran inside the room, taking out the cake and leaving the slice behind, since Luana didn't see the painting yet and I figured that her essentially getting two gifts at once would be nice.

After making sure the cake was safely in my hands, I walked out of the room, where Luana had an amused expression on her face, which was adorable.

"Okay sweetheart, now that we got our Pokémon, let's head to Chicole Village!" I said.

"Hmm, I'm curious, what's in the bag, handsome?" Luana asked.

"It's a surprise, but it's something that everyone would like!" I said as Luana smiled.

"Sounds good to me, ready to go?" Luana asked.

"Yup, I am, let's go!" I said as I held the cake with both hands.

Luana and I exited the Ranger Union and ran through Pueltown, Vien Forest and Vientown, reaching Chicole Village in a matter of minutes whereas it would usually take about a half hour to an hour, our Pokémon were happily running alongside us, though they eventually got quite tired, and I carried Pachirisu and Vulpix on my shoulders, while Luana held Buneary and Raichu.


	41. Chapter 41: Trouble at the Ranger Base!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!**

A/N: This chapter is mainly fluff!

Chapter 41: Trouble at the Ranger Base!

"Phew, I'm a bit tired, we ran the whole way here, didn't we?" Luana asked.

"We certainly did, it didn't feel that way but we did just run at least twelve miles or so." I said.

"Twelve miles?! I'm surprised we don't feel exhausted at all!" Luana said.

"Hah, that's true, we are pretty fast though. We're getting near the house, I don't know if we made it here before Rina, but hopefully we beat her by a few minutes!" I said as we made our way to the front door.

"I know what you mean, I'm so happy for Rina, that test must have been hard, but she passed!" Luana said as she rang the doorbell which mom opened after a few seconds.

"Kellyn, Luana! I'm glad you two are here, Rina is still at the Ranger School and your father is still at work, though he'll be off in a few minutes. Since they're going to be a while, can you two please help me set the table before they come home?" Mom asked as we entered the house and took off our shoes, placing them by the front door while our Pokémon explored the house.

"Of course mom, we'll help you out!" I said as I placed down some plates and cups while Luana put down some forks and spoons, after a few minutes, everything was ready and placed neatly.

"All done, how does it look?" Luana said as my mom turned around from some of the vegetables she was chopping up.

"Looks wonderful, thanks! Oh, Kellyn, what's that box in your hands? You've been holding it rather carefully since you got here. I can only assume it's food or dessert." Mom said as I grinned.

"That's right, it's cake! I was going to place it on the table but I wasn't too sure what sort of food you were cooking and I didn't want the table to be cluttered or anything." I said.

"Don't worry sweetheart, the food is going to be pasta, salad and grilled berries. You can put the cake wherever you'd like on the table!" Mom said as I put it in the center.

"Oooh, cake, that'll taste good! I figured that the box you had contained cake when considering its size, I think that cake is a great way to celebrate something as awesome as Rina being accepted into Ranger School!" Luana said.

"I agree, hopefully our Partner Pokémon come down, I want them to meet the family, I think Rina will love them especially. Pachirisu, Buneary, Raichu, Vulpix, can you guys come down here and meet my mom please?" I said as Pachirisu and Buneary ran down the steps while Raichu and Vulpix soon followed.

When our Pokémon saw my mother, they immediately started crowding around her as she happily hugged all of them.

"These Pokémon of yours are so adorable, thanks for bringing them you two!" Mom said as Luana and I smiled.

"No problem mom, they've helped us out along our adventures, they're really great Pokémon." I said as Pachirisu nuzzled me.

"I'm glad to know that such wonderful Pokémon have kept the both of you safe, I can't imagine it being easy as a Ranger, so having them assist you in any way possible is always helpful." Mom said.

"That's definitely true, they're always happy to come along whenever there's a mission we have to do!" Luana said.

"They're our invaluable partners, just like Luana and me." I said as Luana blushed.

"Now that's what I call sweet, I'm glad you two get along so well. I've said it before and I'll say it again, being able to have compassion and understanding for each other is what makes a relationship and you two certainly have lots of it for each other." Mom said as she put any remaining vegetables in the pasta sauce.

"That's true mom, Luana and I are going to be like you and dad, lifelong partners who are always there for each other." I said as Luana gave me an embrace.

"Aw, that's wonderful sweetheart, I could tell that you and Luana were lifelong partners from when I first met her, you and her are just so bubbly and kind, but you're also both strong, physically and mentally!" Mom said as Luana proceeded to hug me tighter.

"Strong is right! I really appreciate having Luana as a Ranger partner and a romantic one as well, she's there for me and that's something that I can't ever thank her enough for." I said as Luana released me from her embrace as she smiled.

"You're welcome Kellyn, it's always good to be caring. I was also thinking of talking about what happened at the Ranger Union when Rina and Mr. Hajime come home if that's okay with you." Luana said.

"Sure, we could do that! The family always enjoys hearing about anything that happens at the Ranger Union, no matter how dangerous it could be, though our jobs are really dangerous to begin with. Hard to believe that happened to Marcus, I'm glad that he's okay." I said.

"Oh? I'd be interested in hearing this one when we start eating, the food's almost done so I'll go ahead and get some bowls out." Mom said as we heard the front door open, as Rina stepped inside the house with a big grin on her face.

"Welcome home Rina, congratulations on passing your test!" I said as I hugged Rina, while Mom and Luana joined me as our Pokémon started jumping for joy.

"Thanks everyone, that was some test that I had to do. I was shown my results by Principal Lamont, he said that I was amazing and when he showed me the results Kellyn did on each exam, I was happy that I did almost as good as Kellyn had!" Rina exclaimed as she sat down and happily petted all of the Pokémon.

"Wow, Rina I'm so proud of you, awesome job!" I said as I gave her a well-deserved pat on the back.

"Thanks bro, I'm so glad I got accepted into the Operator courses! Your scores were seriously amazing though, they were off the charts! You got a 95 in the Mechanic's test, a 97 in the Operator's test and a 100 in the Ranger's test! Principal Lamont told me that the entrance exam for each one was rigorous and the fact that you got those scores in all three of them is just awesome!" Rina said as our Pokémon tried seeing what our mom was cooking while she took out some bowls.

"I always knew you were a genius, but those are amazing scores! I'm curious, did you take all three of them because you wanted to see how good you could do?" Luana asked as mom put the salad, pasta and grilled berries on the table, covering each of them with bowls so that they can stay warm until dad comes home.

"That's right, I took all three of them because I was informed that those exams were extremely difficult, I figured that I may as well see how good I could do if I took all three of them a few hours apart. When Principal Lamont told me that I could choose which career to sign up for since I passed all three of them, I was shocked. What did you do on your Ranger test, Luana?" I said as Luana smiled.

"I took my Ranger test and I got a 98 on it, I remember jumping for joy because I was able to show all those people who said I shouldn't be a Ranger that they were wrong. Then I was immediately accepted into the Ranger base at Vientown and then a few days later, I met my partner where he eventually became the love of my life, though I'm happy to say I fell in love with him when we locked eyes with each other." Luana said.

"A 98? Wow Luana, you're awesome! It must have felt good to prove to everyone that you're able to be such a great Ranger! Plus the fact that you were able to meet Kellyn is something that you were probably even more happy to have happened considering how close you two are!" Rina said.

"It certainly did, you have no idea how overjoyed I was to have Kellyn as my partner, the fact that he has defended me every single time only made me love him even more." Luana said as I blushed heavily, reminiscing at the memories.

"Aw, that's so sweet!" Mom said.

"It definitely is! Though you've done the same for me Luana, I specifically remember how protective you were of me when we were in the Cargo Ship, you really helped me there and several other times. I'll do what I can to pay you back as thanks." I said.

"Oh Kellyn, you're so sweet! You've saved me several times as well and even if you didn't do so, just being in your company is more than enough, I'd say that's a great way you show your appreciation!" Luana said.

"Thank you Luana, you have no idea how happy that makes me to hear you say that." I said as we heard the front door open.

"Hi everyone, I'm home! Rina, Kellyn and Luana, you're all here! Rina, congratulations on passing your entrance exam, we're all so proud of you!" Dad said as he gave Rina a big hug.

"Haha, thanks dad, I knew I could do it!" Rina said as Dad took off his work uniform which revealed him wearing casual clothes.

"Now that everyone is here, it's time to eat some lunch!" Mom said as we all took our food out.

"Kellyn, you and Luana were going to tell us about what happened at the Ranger Union, was it interesting?" Rina asked as Luana and I looked at each other.

"It was interesting all right! Yesterday we had a Ranger named Jessica join us from the Oblivia region and immediately upon meeting her, things felt off. She had this sort of anger exuding from her and it was very prevalent as we spoke with her. I thought I was just overexaggerating, but everyone felt something was strange with her." I said as my family appeared surprised.

"Wow, she was like this the whole time? That's rather terrifying to me." Dad said.

"She definitely was terrifying, anytime we asked her simple questions, such as if she encountered any dangerous people or groups in Oblivia, she would just get angry before she calmly responded. I felt uneasy the entire time Jessica was there." Luana said.

"So did I, she even forcibly kissed Marcus and he didn't want to say anything, but Marcus eventually decided that he had to." I said as my family appeared shocked.

"Why did Jessica kiss him? That seems rather strange to me." Rina said.

"She claimed that the reason she kissed him is because she wanted to make him confused or something of the sort. She then went on to say that she would then strangle Marcus or try to poison him in his confusion. I feel horrible for Marcus, though the only good thing I could say is that she wasn't able to kill him." I said.

"That's insane that she would try killing Marcus. It sounds like Jessica was a spy, was she an actual Ranger though?" Mom asked.

"She surprisingly was a Ranger, a Rank 6 one as well. She tried everything she could to gain access for this device being made which can locate the three gems. Jessica even managed to tie up Chairperson Erma and when we asked her why she did so, she basically did it for no reason other than for her own amusement. I'm glad everyone made it out okay, hopefully Jessica is on an island where she can never hurt anyone again." Luana said.

"Yeah, she was scary, it's a good thing that we were suspicious of her, who knows what could have happened if we weren't cautious." I said as Luana nodded.

"Wow, this girl sounds scary and crazy, it's a bit unnerving to know that she was a Ranger, was there anything else to mention about Jessica and her behavior that had alarm bells ringing for the Rangers who worked with her in Oblivia?" Dad asked as I thought about Jessica's strange behavior until I remembered something in particular that annoyed me.

"Actually, yes, there was one thing that bothered me. Chairperson Erma spoke with the Oblivia Ranger Base and I presume the leader or some other high ranking Ranger in the base informed her that some of the Rangers noted how Jessica would leave the Ranger base during the middle of the night and not be back for hours as well as her behavior being rather strange, though none of the Rangers there documented it. I find that absolutely absurd because there's the possibility that Jessica wouldn't have tried doing what she did if the Oblivia Ranger base documented her mannerisms when interacting with her coworkers." I said as I shook my head.

"I completely agree, if every other Ranger was performing their duties and didn't appear to act suspicious or rude when talking with their other coworkers, then that's not a problem. But when Jessica is leaving the Ranger base at odd hours of the night and it isn't documented even when Rangers inform the leader or other supervisors, then that's a serious issue." Mom said.

"Exactly, there could even be other Rangers like Jessica and no one would know because the administration over there apparently doesn't write anything down." Rina said.

"Yeah, it's horrible, since Chairperson Erma is the head of the Ranger Union and can decide on the staff for the Ranger bases in all the regions, perhaps she can either get someone to retrain the Oblivia Ranger base leader or hire more base leaders and have them in different areas. After all, having only one base leader for a whole region would cause issues like with Jessica. The only reason it doesn't happen here is because of the Ranger Union being here, if it was in Fiore for instance, it would most likely be a problem just like it is in Oblivia. Fiore has four Ranger bases, Oblivia at the moment, only has one. Almia is the largest region but is run just as efficiently as Fiore, if not better, once again due to the Ranger Union, but Oblivia needs more Ranger bases to prevent problems like this from happening. More Rangers mean there's less of a chance of spies or criminals to roam free, though the base leaders need to be careful on who they select as well." I said as everyone clapped.

"Everything you said was completely true, Oblivia really needs some help with their Ranger base. Considering that they're not even writing down any suspicious behavior with their own Rangers, they could possibly be even omitting information about any criminal activity occurring in their region. The Ranger base over there may not be doing so on purpose, but rather due to neglect or the Rangers themselves slacking off. Either way, something has to be done or else it can happen again." Luana said.

"Wow, it's like you two share each other's thoughts, that's seriously impressive." Rina said.

"Haha, we might be nearly identical, but we don't share each other's thoughts…yet." I said as everyone laughed.

After a few minutes, Luana and I finished our food, followed by everyone else. Mom and dad went to clean up the pots and pans that were used when mom was preparing the food, while Luana and I took the plates to the sink, preparing to wash them after dessert, we saw our Pokémon eagerly going up to Rina, wanting to play with her after they finished eating.

"Woah, these Pokémon are so playful, thanks for bringing them!" Rina said as Pachirisu started to tickle her.

"Hahah, it's no problem Rina! We know how much everyone wanted to see them and they're really happy to see all of you!" I said as all of the Partner Pokémon crowded around Rina.

"Ooh, is this…cake? I'd love to have some!" Rina said.

"You do? Good, we brought this cake for everyone, specifically you since you passed your exam. We figured it would be something you guys would like." I said as I took a small knife and cut a piece of cake for Rina, putting it on a nearby plate as I handed it to her.

"Thanks bro, this cake looks delicious!" Rina said.

"No problem, hopefully you think this cake tastes as good as it looks!" I said as Rina happily took a bite.

"What do you think Rina? Does it taste good?" Luana asked as Rina grinned.

"This cake is amazing, it definitely tastes great! Hopefully mom and dad would want a piece." Rina said.

"Mom, dad, you two work hard enough. Come have a slice of cake!" I said as they both dried their hands and came over to the table.

I went ahead and cut both of them a piece of cake while giving Luana her own slice, everyone took a bite of the cake and were instantly smiling.

_'__Man, that cake must have tasted better than I thought it would've. I'm glad everyone enjoyed it, that's what matters to me, seeing them happy.'_ I thought to myself.

"Wow…that's really good cake, where did you buy this?" Mom asked.

"I bought it at this place called Dessert Express in Pueltown, it was thanks to Murph that I got that cake to begin with. I was looking for something and saw Murph walking around which eventually led to me following him to the Dessert Express, I'm so glad I was able to get this cake." I said.

"Well we certainly all appreciate it, especially Rina. That was very nice of you to do, son." Dad said with a smile.

"I agree, we also appreciate how you took the time out of your schedules to come see us." Mom said.

"Oh guys, it's no problem at all. We love spending time here and it sure looks like our Pokémon do too!" I said as Vulpix and Raichu slept by the stove, while Pachirisu and Buneary kept playing with Luana.

"Hahah, Buneary, Pachirisu, you guys want a hug?" Luana said as both Pokémon happily jumped into her arms.

_'__Luana… every time I'm thinking about her or look at her, I fall even more in love with her than I thought was possible.'_ I thought to myself as Luana giggled.

"Aw, your Partner Pokémon are so cute, what sort of activities do they do when they're not doing missions with you guys?" Mom asked.

"They get specialized training by two of our friends, Ben and Betty. They train our Pokémon to focus on making their attacks distract the enemy Pokémon while also protecting us from any other attacks such as an Ice Shard aimed at us." I said as Vulpix and Raichu went over to me and I happily pet them on their heads.

"They also help out the Ranger Union if there's anything such as a power outage or any other incidents where they'll be needed to assist. The four of them are such great Partner Pokémon, we really adore them." Luana said as our Pokémon started to jump up and down.

"Wow, your Partner Pokémon are so awesome if they're able to do all of that!" Rina said.

"They certainly are, and they're really energetic too, that's a good thing though, they need to be able to keep up with their Rangers!" Dad said as he played with Raichu.

"Oh, Kellyn, you're not going to wash those dishes are you? I can do that." Mom said as I laughed as I quickly carried the plates to the sink.

"Mom, no worries, you, dad and Rina work hard. Besides, we have to go in the next couple of minutes and we want to help however we can before we have to go. Make sure you guys eat all that cake!" I said as Luana came over to help me.

"Thanks son, we really appreciate everything that you and Luana have done for us. There's nothing that needs to be done around the house or outside, the both of you do enough work as it is. By the way, don't worry about the cake, we'll make sure it's eaten!" Mom said.

"Thank you mom, Luana and I will always help you guys out whenever we can. If we're not able to come over, then we'll let you guys know and have one of our friends to come over and help you guys with whatever you need. It's important to look after family and make sure they're doing good." I said as Mom hugged me while Luana and I finished washing the few dishes in the sink.

"Thank you sweetheart, I really appreciate the kind words, I certainly raised you well. If you and Luana are leaving now, please make sure that you two reach home safely. I really worry about the both of you." Mom said.

"Don't worry mom, Luana and I are going to be fine. We'll be heading out now, bye guys, I love all of you very much." I said as Luana and I hugged everyone, while our Partner Pokémon walked over to us after nuzzling my family.

After we exited the house, Luana and I walked out of Chicole Village and headed towards Vientown while our Pokémon played with each other.

"That was fun, I really enjoyed spending time with your family, the Pokémon had fun as well!" Luana said.

"I'm glad you and the Pokémon enjoyed yourselves, it was nice to relax after all that we've been through recently. Do you want to head over to…huh? Is that Ollie that I see?" I asked as I spotted someone running towards us and upon closer inspection, I saw that it was in fact, Ollie, who appeared to be panicked.

"Ollie, tell us what happened!" Luana said as Ollie tried catching his breath.

"Kellyn…Luana, I'm so glad to see you guys. I need your help, it's nothing too serious compared to what you guys have faced, but the Ranger base doesn't have any electricity. The worst part is the doors won't open and Barlow's inside! We were going to have some people help us build another door at the back but construction hasn't even been started yet!" Ollie said.

"What?! Don't worry Ollie, we're going to help Barlow out! Now…how do we get inside…" I said as I tried thinking of ways to get into the Ranger Base, while a Staraptor flew around nearby. After a few seconds, Luana and I both looked at each other, thinking of an idea at the same time.

"Let's go on the roof!" We said as Luana and I went over to the Staraptor which was about twenty feet away, as I made a few loops around the Staraptor, capturing it quickly as we went back over to the Ranger Base, where Ollie was nervously pacing back and forth.

"Ollie, stay calm, we're going to help Barlow and restore the electricity. Where's everyone else?" Luana asked as Raichu and Pachirisu looked around for any openings.

"Alright, I'll try to stay as calm as possible. I know that Jen and Elaine had to step out for a bit, but I last saw Crawford at Nabiki Beach! Do you want me to try getting any of them?" Ollie asked.

"No, that's okay, I just figured that they were also inside or out and about." Luana said.

"Oh I understand, thanks for the concern! There should be a hatch opening on the roof, it was installed only a few days ago!" Ollie said.

"A hatch opening? Good, we'll go in quickly!" I said as Luana and I hopped on Staraptor with our Partner Pokémon as we landed on the roof.

We saw a solid steel hatch opening with a handle running along the side. I pulled open the hatch and was glad that it opened, letting some sunlight into the Ranger Base. Luana and I jumped down inside while we had our Pokémon jump in after us. We looked around for the breaker box and couldn't find it in the lobby, so we headed towards where the sleeping quarters were. After having Pachirisu and Raichu light up the room and checking the room for where the breaker box could be, I then assumed that the breaker box would be located in the kitchen, as that was the last place to search and I'm fairly certain the bathroom wouldn't contain it. Luana and I went to the kitchen and after looking for anything that might store a breaker box in the event that Barlow decided to conceal it, we eventually found it, almost looking as if it were disguised since it blended in perfectly with the gray fridge and the microwave.

"Good, we found it. I hope there isn't any damage to this thing." I said as I opened the breaker box and noticed a few of the main switches were flicked off, which I quickly flipped to the on position as power came back to the Ranger base.

"Alright, good work Kellyn!" Luana said as she gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"It wasn't just me Luana, you helped me look around for the breaker box and our Pokémon helped us see better! We didn't see Barlow though, Ollie said he was in here." I said as we heard some shuffling in the next room.

"Let's go check it out, maybe it's Barlow." Luana said as we entered the sleeping quarters and were happy to see that it was Barlow who was sitting up in a bed as he rubbed his eyes.


	42. Chapter 42: Pranks and Plans

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!**

A/N: The group decides to thwart some pranksters, so the first half of this is mainly comedy, though the second half is a bit serious as they plan to intercept a base. Enjoy!

Chapter 42: Pranks and Plans

When Barlow noticed us, he immediately got up and walked over to us, with a big grin on his face, though he looked very tired.

"Barlow, it's so nice to see you! How are you doing?" I asked as Barlow smiled.

"I'm good Kellyn, how are you and Luana?" Barlow asked.

"We're doing great, we just finished having some lunch at Kellyn's house." Luana said.

"Yup, we did, it was really delicious. We were in here because the power was out and wanted to help however we could. Luana and I were able to get the power back on, as you can see, it wasn't too difficult to do!" I said.

"I was about to wonder who turned on the lights when I saw you two! I'm very surprised the power was out." Barlow asked.

"It certainly was, Ollie spotted us and asked us to help and we entered through the hatch. Barlow, I hope this doesn't sound rude but you look like you haven't slept in days. Is…is everything okay with you?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm doing alright, I'm not that tired!" Barlow said.

"Barlow, please tell us what happened, you know we saw you lying down in that bed. What's troubling you?" Luana said as Barlow sighed.

"Well…I've been hearing reports from the Ranger Union about all the dangerous things that have happened to you guys. All the close calls, such as with Team Dim Sun, that one crazy spy and other times when you guys are on missions or quests. It really makes me worry about you two even more than I already do and I've been losing sleep because I wonder if the next time you guys go on a mission, if it'll be your last." Barlow said.

"Wow…Barlow, we're sorry, we figured it would trouble you in some way but neither of us had any idea it scared you that much. Please Barlow, don't worry about us as much as you are, Luana and I have faced tough foes and always made it out safely. You've dealt with dangerous enemies too. Luana and I know what a great Ranger base leader you are and we've learned a lot from you, so you know that we're capable enough to come out unscathed. If you're still going to be worrying about us as much as you are right now, Luana and I will just have to come by the Ranger base five times a week to make sure that you're okay." I said as Barlow chuckled.

"Hahah, you two don't have to do that, but I appreciate the kind thoughts. You're right, the both of you have faced a lot of enemies and obstacles by now, you two have handled a lot together." Barlow said as he smiled.

"Barlow, just know that we're here for you. If you want us to come anytime, please let us know and we'll be here as soon as we can." Luana said.

"Thanks guys, that really means a lot to me. I remember when the both of you just started out at the Ranger base, you two became so infatuated with each other at first sight and that really made me happy to see, especially because you two were assigned to be Ranger partners together! Another thing that I always admired about you two is that the compassion you two have for each other extends to everyone. Just please be careful when you two go on missions." Barlow said.

"That's how we are, don't you worry Barlow, we'll always be careful on our missions! Would you like to go outside? Ollie is probably freaking out right about now!" Luana said.

"Oh man, he probably is. Let's go see him then!" Barlow said as we exited the Ranger base, where Ollie and the Staraptor were waiting.

"You guys are awesome! The Ranger Union is back to normal again, great work!" Ollie said as our Pokémon hopped up and down.

"Thanks Ollie, it's what Rangers do! Oh, let me close the hatch back before I forget." I said as I hopped on the Staraptor and closed the hatch, making sure it was securely locked before I got back down on the ground and released the Staraptor.

"I know, but I was really worried about Barlow, I'm so glad he's safe!" Ollie said.

"Haha, Ollie, of course I'd be safe! I was just taking a short nap, that's all." Barlow said.

"Oh really? A nap sounds nice right about now, maybe I can get some sleep and then I can get some soup once I wake up!" Ollie said.

"That doesn't sound too bad, maybe you could wait for Elaine before heading to bed!" I joked as Ollie smiled.

"That's a great idea, I think I'm going to go do that in the next few minutes. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to properly say hi when I saw you two since I was panicking. Now that everything's back to normal, how are you guys doing?" Ollie said.

"No need to be sorry Ollie, it makes sense you were panicking, you probably thought something happened to Barlow. It's a good thing he's safe. Luana and I are doing great, how's everything at the Ranger Base?" I asked.

"Things are rather quiet here, the only thing that really happens here is Little Tim's Miltank gets out of its fence every so often, but Crawford brings it back in quickly." Ollie said.

"Yup, I'm certain you guys have come by every so often and see that the Ranger base has its lights off. This is because we have to do our morning rounds where we check Chicole Village, here, and the road leading to the Ranger School." Barlow said.

"Oh wow, you guys never did that when I first started out. I assume that it's due to the increase in Team Dim Sun's antics and what they've done at the Ranger Union?" Luana asked as Barlow nodded.

"Yup, you're right, we walk around these areas in case we notice anyone suspicious. We haven't seen anyone so far, but it's always good to patrol around anyway." Barlow said.

"I agree, that's a very smart idea since it keeps the citizens safe in the event that you guys encounter anyone dangerous." I said.

"Kellyn's right, being able to make sure that citizens are safe is important! See Barlow? You're a great leader just on that fact alone!" Luana said.

"Aw, you guys are so sweet, I really think the way you two uplift people is wonderful. I'll be heading inside though, don't want Elaine to discover this nice gift I got waiting for her in the Ranger base! Bye guys, it was nice to see you!" Ollie said as he waved while we did the same.

"Same to you Ollie, let us know if you need anything!" I said as Ollie walked towards the Ranger Base and promptly entered inside.

"Barlow if there's anything that you need, call us anytime. Kellyn and I will help you out as best as we can." Luana said.

"Thank you guys, I really appreciate that. Now that I know you two are going to be okay, I'll do my best to get some sleep. I'm feeling really tired right about now actually, I'll be heading inside. I'll let everyone else know that you two dropped by to say hello and also helped us out!" Barlow said.

"Good, please take care of yourself Barlow. Luana and I will show up when we can to see how you're doing. Enjoy your sleep!" I said as Barlow high fived us before jogging inside.

After Barlow left, Luana and I checked our Stylers for any quests in the entire region and were surprised that we weren't able to find any. Thinking it was strange, Luana and I headed out of Vientown and made our way through Vien Forest and eventually reached Pueltown, the both of us decided to talk on the way while we headed back to the Ranger Union.

"Hm…it's so strange. I would have thought by now that there would have been at least one quest for us to do. Maybe Sven and Wendy did them all!" I said as Luana giggled.

"Hahah, probably! Knowing those two, they probably did every quest by now even with Wendy taking her time on training Sven on being a Flying Ranger." Luana said.

"Oh man, don't scare me like that! I love doing quests!" I said.

"Don't worry Kellyn, I'm just joking around! Wendy and Sven are probably at the Ranger Union relaxing. Speaking of relaxing, do you think that's what all of our friends are doing right now?" Luana asked.

"Hmm, I think that Sven and Wendy are relaxing but Linda and Murph, along with Ben, Betty and Marcus are working. I'm pretty certain Keith is getting into some trouble just like when we were in Ranger School and knowing Rhythmi, she's most likely with him." I said.

"Yeah, based on what you've told me, Keith certainly seems like a prankster. By now, Chairperson Erma must either be laughing or shaking her head when wondering why she allowed Keith to pull any pranks. Either way, if they're not asleep, there's probably someone else over to ensure they're okay and not causing too much trouble." Luana said.

"Exactly, I completely agree. Though I can't help but worry about Barlow,…I really hope he doesn't stress himself out too much. Maybe he'll be relaxed now." I said as we came to the Ranger Union's entrance.

"I know, Barlow is a great leader, he'll have our support along with the support of Jen, Elaine, Ollie and Crawford." Luana said as we heard a scream come from upstairs.

Luana and I raced upstairs with our Pokémon following us up the escalator. Thankfully, what we saw wasn't another attack on the Ranger Union, but around four people or so covered in flour. Luana and I both snickered as one of them walked up to us, with her hair being the only thing visible.

"Kellyn! Luana! It's me, Wendy, I'm so glad that you guys are here! Keith and Rhythmi pranked most of the Ranger Union with flour bags and other nefarious pranks, such as googly eyes! You have to help us!" Wendy said as she wiped the flour from her hair and uniform, with some of it falling to the ground.

_"__Pfft, googly eyes…please Wendy, tell me you're joking." _I thought to myself as Luana giggled.

"You did say those two love to prank, didn't you, Kellyn?" Luana asked.

"I did but…flour? Googly eyes? This I have to see." I said as Wendy tried wiping some more flour off of her uniform.

Luana and I tried our best to not laugh especially since Wendy was right in front of us, however, as she checked to see how the other three people were doing, she turned around to face us as her eyes were facing the floor previously. Seeing her with four googly eyes stuck to her face and flour over her entire body was hilarious. When we saw who the other three individuals were, which were revealed to be Sven, Marcus and Betty as they turned around, that alone was what made the both of us start to laugh so hard.

"W-what's so funny? Is it that bad?!" Sven asked as his hat, hair and face were covered in flour, with his hat being covered with googly eyes.

"Hahah, Sven, your hat has googly eyes everywhere!" Marcus said as he started to laugh despite the fact that his pants were covered with flour while his shirt was adorned with googly eyes.

"But Marcus, your entire shirt is covered with googly eyes! Keith and Rhythmi really got us good. They got quite a few other people, like Linda, Murph, Ben and Chairperson Erma." Betty said as Luana and I only laughed harder.

"S-s-sorry guys…h-how can we h-help? M-maybe we could prank the both of them back?" I said as I managed to regain my composure, while Luana was still giggling, looking adorable as always.

Our four friends covered with googly eyes and flour just looked at each other and then at Luana, who was still laughing. They couldn't help but smile despite them being absolutely covered from head to toe, thanks to Keith and Rhythmi's pranks. After a few minutes, Luana managed to not giggle as much even when considering how badly everyone got pranked.

"Sorry about that, we can definitely prank Keith and Rhythmi back! It'll be like a mission!" Luana said as everyone grinned.

"That's right, it's going to be fun! Keith and Rhythmi might be coming back here soon. Let's go to our room." I said as everyone followed me down to the first floor as we headed into our room.

Luana and I got the chairs out so that everyone can sit down and I went ahead and locked the door just in case Keith or Rhythmi knew we were here.

"Okay guys, tell us what happened and when the pranking even started. How long has it been going on for? I'm surprised that so many people got pranked!" Luana said as Marcus tried to remove a googly eye, though it managed to stay on his shirt anyway.

"Well, after you guys left, I overheard Keith asking Chairperson Erma if he could play a 'few' pranks. Chairperson Erma loves joking around quite a bit and of course, she agreed. Googly eyes and flour weren't the only pranks Keith and Rhythmi did, I'm pretty sure Ben got Gastrodon ooze all over him…it wasn't pretty. They've been doing this from the time you guys left but they're rather good at hiding, so most of us didn't expect Keith or Rhythmi to get us like…this." Marcus said.

"Ew, that Gastrodon ooze was horrible. Ben was happy to get rid of it, only to get covered with googly eyes right as he got his new change of clothes. I think he's still trying to get some of them off his clothes and face." Betty said as she shivered.

"Geez, that's not as bad as me, Rhythmi had one of those tripwire traps and it left my legs all tied up for a while…she put googly eyes all over my face! Sven, you on the other hand…well…you might need a new hat if I can't get those googly eyes off." Wendy said as she kissed Sven's cheek.

"Thanks Wendy, maybe the adhesive will wear off if you're not able to remove them. But...oh man, knowing those two, I'll probably get a new hat and they'll put these silly googly eyes everywhere. To be honest though, they are kind of funny looking and it does beat having a Tamato berry thrown at our faces, but still, they didn't need to put them all over us!" Sven said as Luana and I giggled.

"Don't worry, maybe we can out prank them! Hmm, those googly eyes on your hat are silly looking, what can we do that would be a better prank?" I asked.

"What about if we placed water buckets on any doors that are slightly ajar, so that when they open the door, the water just falls on them? I can't think of anything interesting or otherwise special. Maybe we could scare them?" Betty asked.

"That could work, but the biggest issue is that we don't know where they are. Maybe we can launch a surprise attack? It would be nice to think of a lot of interesting prank choices…Luana, Betty, Marcus, Sven, Wendy, do you guys have any suggestions? I really can't think of anything myself." I asked as everyone thought for a moment before Luana started to giggle.

"I got something that'll scare them, it's not the best prank ever but it might work. What if one of us pretended to be an armchair? They'll get tired of doing pranks and then they'll eventually decide to sit down, and that's when we'll grab them when they least expect it!" Luana said.

"That could work, we can go to the receptionist desk and use the armchair there. It's big enough that it can conceal one of us without any issue!" Marcus said.

"Good idea, if we had any water balloons then that would be even more fun, since we could pummel them with a couple as the person disguised as the armchair holds them down." I said.

"Hmm, that can work, for the plan to be effective though, we all can't be there, it'll be too obvious." Betty said.

"That's right, Wendy, how about you, me and Marcus head upstairs to the Operators' Room? I don't think Keith or Rhythmi would try anything on us since we've already been pranked." Sven said.

"Hmm, it's a bit risky, especially because they're probably wandering around and trying to get anyone. Let's go ahead and try luring them downstairs if it'll mean that we can help Kellyn and Luana and get them to stop pranking us!" Wendy said as we all gave a high five as they headed out of the room, with us remaining with Betty.

"Okay, if Keith and Rhythmi come here, I can distract them as well. When you two need to know when to grab them, I'll tap my finger on the counter. How does that sound?" Betty said as I got a few sheets.

"Good idea, let's put that plan into action!" Luana said as we made sure our Stylers were silent in case Keith or Rhythmi decided to call us.

Afterwards, we carefully opened the door and checked to make sure that Keith and Rhythmi were nowhere near us. Once we confirmed the coast was clear, Luana and I got on the armchairs the receptionists used and removed the small cushion. We both sat down in our own chair and had Betty put the cushion on our laps so it'll appear soft, after that, she then put a sheet over us that matched the armchair's color.

"How do we look?" I whispered as Betty chuckled.

"You two blend right in thanks to the chairs being really plush, I think I hear someone, let me go look." Betty said as I heard her walk up the escalator.

"Hi Betty! We really pranked you good, didn't we?" Keith asked as Rhythmi giggled.

"Unfortunately…I'll have to spend hours getting these googly eyes off of me." Betty said.

_'__This plan is going to work great if Betty can convince Keith or Rhythmi to sit down.' _I thought.

"Hahah, sorry about that, we got nearly everyone in the Ranger Union aside from Kellyn, Luana and Vatona! Did you see any of them today?" Rhythmi said.

"No I didn't, I'm not sure where they are. Have you two tried the town or perhaps one of the medical rooms?" Betty asked.

"We did ask some of the Ranger Union doctors and none of them have seen Kellyn, Luana or Vatona. Nage won't say anything to us and the town would take a while to look through. I am feeling rather tired though, I think I'll take a seat." Keith said as I heard him approaching my chair.

Keith sat down on the cushion and let himself get comfy while Rhythmi sat down on the cushion Luana had over her.

'_Good, now I think Luana and I should go ahead and grab them, it's the right moment and we can hold them down.' _I thought to myself as I heard Betty tap her finger.

Luana and I both grabbed Keith and Rhythmi, still covered by the sheet and cushion, with the two of them struggling.

"You two need to relax! You look so stressed, hahah!" Betty said.

"W-what is this?! The people holding us down are so strong!" Rhythmi said as Keith continued to struggle, with Luana and I releasing our friends as they struggled for at least ten seconds as we removed our sheets and cushions that were over us.

"K-Kellyn?! Luana?! You two…pranked us?!" Keith said as Luana, Betty and I laughed.

"Yup, we did! That's what you two get for pranking most of the Ranger Union!" Luana said as Keith groaned.

"It was fun though, Rhythmi and I enjoyed ourselves!" Keith said as I laughed.

"Luana and I got you two good though, bet you didn't expect us to get you guys, huh?" I said as Keith grinned.

"No way, I thought you two were asleep or in Pueltown or elsewhere. You scared us really badly!" Keith said.

"Yeah, you two are terrifyingly strong!" Rhythmi said.

"Well, we're glad we pranked you guys. Hopefully the Ranger Union is going to be less chaotic from now on." I said.

"Don't worry, it will be. You guys really got us good!" Keith said.

"Hahah, that was awesome! Nice plan Kellyn, thanks for the help Betty!" Luana said as Betty smiled.

"No problem, I'll go see how everyone else is doing. See you guys later!" Betty said as we waved goodbye to her as she headed upstairs.

"So, we heard you guys even pranked Chairperson Erma, I wonder how that went." I said with a smirk.

"Oh right…we…we did. Didn't we?" Keith said as he looked around fearfully before relaxing after a few seconds.

"Yup, we did, she looked rather surprised when she got googly eyes and yellow paint all over her, we definitely ran out of the room afterwards!" Rhythmi said.

"Haha, I'm not surprised when considering how much you two love to prank others and mess with everyone! Chairperson Erma is nice though, she won't be mad at you guys!" I said.

"If anything, she'll know to never let you guys do pranks in the Ranger Union again! But seriously, she won't fire you guys or reprimand either of you, she would just laugh it off." Luana said.

"Hmm, that's a good point, she is friendly and understanding. Okay Rhythmi, let's go the Chairperson Erma!" Keith said as he ran upstairs.

"Man, Keith never likes staying still…now I have to go race after him. It was fun pranking nearly everyone in the Ranger Union, though ultimately, you two easily won. See you guys!" Rhythmi said as she headed after Keith.

"Well…that was fun, that was a great prank Luana! Thank you for your help Betty, we really appreciate it!" I said as Betty smiled.

"Not a problem, I'm glad I could help you guys out! I'll go upstairs and see how Ben's doing, I think he went up there after hearing Chairperson Erma got pranked, he probably wanted to see how much paint got on her or if anyone else got pranked as bad as he did. See you guys!" Betty said as she went upstairs.

"Seems like it'll be interesting to check it out, want to head up there since we don't have much to do?" I asked as Luana grinned.

"Sure, let's go, I wonder if Murph or Linda got pranked as bad as Sven and Wendy did." Luana said as we went upstairs.

As we were halfway up the escalator to reach the Operators' Room, we immediately saw a whole lot of work needing to be done. Luana and I walked the rest of the way up and noticed googly eyes, yellow paint, flour and remnants of balloons scattered all over the floor, with some of the flour on the monitors.

Keith and Rhythmi were talking with Chairperson Erma, who wasn't upset at all, in fact, she was actually laughing and smiling the entire time. Marcus, Murph and Linda looked around at the mess and didn't seem to mind too much, while we saw Betty carrying a few boxes over to a table, placing them on the ground as she examined the mess with everyone else.

_'__I really hope the paint isn't quick drying paint or wasn't on these surfaces for too long, as long as the paint didn't dry, everything could be cleaned up easily.'_ I thought as Luana and I walked over to Chairperson Erma and she turned around and waved us over.

"Hello dearies, how are you two doing? Keith and Rhythmi told me that you both gave them quite a scare!" Chairperson Erma said.

"Hello Chairperson Erma, we're doing good. We figured we had to prank them back, I knew that this place got messed up, but I didn't think it would be this bad." I said.

"It certainly did, I'll be having some help with cleaning it up. Keith and Rhythmi are going to do it while Marcus, Linda and Murph relax." Chairperson Erma said.

"Would you like us to help clean up?" Luana and I simultaneously said.

"If you two would like to do so, I have some extra cleaning supplies by the desk over there." Chairperson Erma said as she showed us some buckets of water and sponges with the same cardboard boxes Betty put on the ground.

Luana and I quickly got to work, first removing the googly eyes and putting them in the box. After we did so, we got the sponges and wiped off some of the flour and the paint, with Marcus, Murph, Betty and Linda quickly joining in to help us as Keith and Rhythmi cleaned up the flour on the monitors. After several minutes of working as a team, the mess was cleaned up as if it never happened.

"Wow, great work everyone!" Chairperson Erma said.

"Thank you Chairperson Erma for being such a good sport about it, thank you everyone for helping me and Rhythmi out!" Keith said.

"We really appreciate it, you guys didn't have to help us out but all of you still did, thank you so much!" Rhythmi said.

"You're welcome, friends help each other out. Even if those friends cover the Ranger Union with enough to make a mess as big as this one, such as googly eyes and flour." I said as everyone laughed.

"Hahah, sorry about that! The great news is that it's all cleaned up thanks to the quick help of you guys, otherwise, we'd be here for a long time just trying to remove everything." Keith said.

"Luana and I don't mind, I would recommend you guys don't do pranks inside the Ranger Union since it'll involve the entire Ranger Union staying in their dorms or engaging in the pranks and making a mess." I said as Keith and Rhythmi nodded.

"Well, you two are certainly very smart in dealing with discipline. Luana, Kellyn, you two are being put in charge of the Top Rangers when our researchers finish making their device to locate the three Gems. The two of you shall direct them on the course of action. Are you two okay with that?" Chairperson Erma asked as we saw Wendy and Sven come out from the brown door and head over to Murph, Marcus, Linda and Betty.

"We definitely are!" We said as Chairperson Erma smiled once more as everyone cheered.

"Wonderful, now that you two are designated to ensuring the Top Rangers start the mission safely, this is going to be great. Please tell me if there's any questions." Chairperson Erma said Keith raised his hand.

"I have a question, once the three Gems are found, what would the best method of transportation be? Boat or Pokémon? I was thinking of a Pokémon but we don't know how far the location could be." Keith said.

"I think a Pokemon would be more efficient. If we're in a boat, there's the chance a Team Dim Sun grunt could spot us and destroy. Or something just as scary…we'll be captive if they don't kill us right away. Team Dim Sun made sure that they would be more serious this time around and there's no telling what attacks they might have planned, they know we'll be coming for the gem but certain Pokémon, like Charizards or Staraptors are going to be quite a bit faster than a boat." I said.

"That's a good point, we'll have to plan thoroughly. Even though a plan can fail, it's always good to have one. We can discuss what to do in our room so that we don't disturb the Top Operators, Betty, Murph or Chairperson Erma. Just give us ten minutes or so and we'll be there!" Luana said as everyone nodded and headed downstairs as we walked over to Betty, Linda, Murph, Marcus and Rhythmi.

"Wow, look at you guys taking charge! With the two of you leading this operation, Team Dim Sun doesn't stand a chance!" Linda said.

"Hahah, thanks, it's going to be tough, especially since we don't have any idea where this hideout is. Even if we did, we don't have any schematics of the place. But we'll get the Gems back, you guys can count on that!" I said.

"We're all confident that all of you can do it, after all, every Top Ranger is going to be there and you guys have been through a lot! I'm going to go look for Ben, he might still be removing googly eyes from his face!" Betty said as she waved and went back downstairs.

"Kellyn, Luana, before we all go back to work, we wanted to say that you two are capable of stopping whatever it is Team Dim Sun is doing at their secret base. Whether it's creating more Miniremo units, training the grunts and admins, or being used as their main base of operations, I know that all of you can handle it." Murph said.

"That's right, Team Dim Sun might have some advantages since it's their base and the fact that there's more of them than the five of you but that doesn't mean you guys are going to be overpowered since you guys as a duo are amazing, let alone five of you working as one group!" Marcus said.

"Aside from that, you guys are way more experienced and knowledgeable than those grunts and admins are, the five of you are Top Rangers for a reason, so you're all able to get those gems back." Rhythmi said.

"Thank you everyone, it's a bit daunting of a task, but as you all said, we're Top Rangers and we're certainly capable of being able to do this! We'll be heading downstairs now since everyone must be waiting for us. Bye guys!" Luana said as we waved and headed over to Chairperson Erma.

"Dearies, just as everyone has said, you will all succeed, I'm honored to have such great Top Rangers conducting such a dangerous mission. While Vatona, Nage and Professor Hastings work on the device, I figured I may as well inform you two that I was thinking of having each of you communicate with your Top Operators when you go there and throughout the mission itself, but it'll be easier to just have one Top Operator you're relaying information to, so the Top Operator will be Marcus." Chairperson Erma said.

"Thank you for letting us know, Chairperson Erma, we'll let everyone know. Luana and I are going to head downstairs and discuss our options. If we need anything, we'll tell you!" I said as Luana and I went back downstairs, as we made our way to the second floor, I was thinking of Luana's head injury that she got a while back and how she should get it scanned for any abnormalities.

_'__I want to ask Luana if we can go to Dr. Rhythmi...that head injury she got that caused her to get temporary amnesia really worries me. I don't want her to get injured at the back of her head when we go to this base…she can end up forgetting everything and Team Dim Sun grunts will be everywhere. In that situation, I'll defend her with my life whether she remembers everything or not.' _I thought to myself as I started to shake, which made Luana turn to me with a worried expression on her face.

"Kellyn? What's wrong? Take some deep breaths, I'm here." Luana said as she got in front of me and put her hands on my shoulders.

I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths, after a couple of seconds, I opened my eyes to see Luana still have a worried expression.

"Well, I was hoping we could go to Dr. Rhythmi, your head injury that you got back then really worries me. What if you get injured and get amnesia again? You could get hurt and that base is going to be crawling with Team Dim Sun grunts. I'll defend you with my life if that happens." I said as Luana took her hands off my shoulders and embraced me.

"Of course we'll go to Dr. Rhythmi, there might be an issue with my skull that could be undetected. I really appreciate how you care about me so much, thank you Kellyn." Luana said as I kissed her on the lips with the both of us heading downstairs shortly afterwards.

As we both made our way to the first floor, we saw Keith, Sven and Wendy sitting by the receptionist table. As we approached them, they all got up and followed us to our room as we held the door open for them. Luana and I took out chairs for them as we all sat down by the kitchen counter, ready to discuss our plan for the hideout as best as we could.

"Hi guys, sorry we took so long. We're going to discuss what we can do as we face Team Dim Sun in their hideout. I have a feeling that Team Dim Sun would still put the gems all in one place versus actually splitting each of them up. However, aside from that, do you guys have any suggestions? You know we're eager to listen to what you guys have to say." I said as everyone thought for a moment.

"That's not a problem, Kellyn, you guys didn't take long at all. A suggestion I have involves using something such as a Pokémon to lure Team Dim Sun or to perhaps try to distract them in some way. Even though they tend to be disorganized, there's no telling what sort of attacks they might have when we go there." Sven said.

"A suggestion sounds great, we'll need any ideas we can come up to create a concise plan, what do you have in mind?" I asked as I got a pen and paper from the nightstand.

"I was thinking of having some Pokémon with us to coax some Team Dim Sun grunts into leaving their posts, such as having Vulpix or Buneary using Charm and having the grunts follow them." Sven said.

"That's a good idea! It would be easy if we knew exactly where the base was so we could plan accordingly. However, that's a very good idea because it worked on anyone we tried it on." I said.

'_I don't want to mention how Luana and I had Buneary use Charm on those three Rangers, it might bring back some traumatic memories and I wouldn't want Sven or Wendy to feel nervous or uncomfortable.' _I thought to myself as I wrote Sven's idea down.

"Nice work Sven, that idea sounds really effective!" Wendy said as she gave Sven a high five.

"It definitely does! What I'm thinking of is when we actually enter the base. Whether this is Team Dim Sun's main base of operations or not, there are certainly going to be cameras around the entire base if the three gems are going to be stored there, even if they put the gems in different locations, which they most likely would, there might even be silent alarms. We could have Pachirisu and Raichu use their electricity to destroy those cameras. How does that sound?" Luana asked.

"That sounds amazing! It's certainly possible that they'll install cameras to see if any intruders have infiltrated their base. Getting our Pokémon to destroy their cameras will definitely be a great idea and wouldn't make things one sided. One thing that really worries me is that I suspect that the Team Dim Sun admins will be the ones we'll encounter the most at the base. Team Dim Sun grunts are usually unorganized about their work which is great for us but this is also a bit of a problem since there wouldn't be too many of them at the base, especially considering that the three gems might be stored there or could all be in separate locations and they would probably do something to mess it up." I said as I wrote down Luana's idea.

"Oh man, that's a good point…I never thought of that. Team Dim Sun knows how much of a threat we are as individuals or as pairs. But all of us combined would certainly be a serious threat. That gives me an idea though, would getting Electric type Pokémon to temporarily paralyze the admins work?" Keith asked.

"Good idea, there's no telling how many admins or grunts we can expect to be there, but there are certainly going to be a lot of them. Getting Electric type Pokémon to help us out can work, especially because it can also ease the strain Pachirisu or Raichu put on themselves." I said as I checked all the ideas written down so far.

_'__All of these are thorough; however, Wendy doesn't have a suggestion yet. It's not a problem since she might be thinking of one now or perhaps will think of one later, let me ask her if she thought of anything.'_ I thought to myself.

"I have an idea! What if we captured Ghost type Pokémon and had them scare or lure the Team Dim Sun admins out of the area they're guarding?" Wendy asked.

"That's a good suggestion, if there are any Ghost types there, we can definitely have them scare away any guards from their posts which would make things a little easier for us. These are some really awesome suggestions guys; I would say they're well thought out. What I'm thinking we could do is once the device is made and can locate the gems, we can try seeing if Marcus can help us with schematics for the base or bases if they're available, this will give us a helpful advantage as well." I said.

"That would be great! Is there anything else we need to do aside from brainstorming some ideas?" Keith asked.

"No, but if there are any concerns or if you guys have any other ideas, just come to Luana and I. When we do get to the base, your safety is the most important thing. If there's a point where you guys have to split up and feel as if a situation is too dangerous or you might get spotted, find a safe spot and wait for someone to help. Of course, in the event that we each have to somehow split up individually, be extra careful, because being anywhere with Team Dim Sun is a problem. I don't think we'll have to go individually at any time but it's hard to say. For now, the best option when we arrive at the base is to stick as a group and don't split up, otherwise, we could get trapped. Any questions?" I asked as everyone shook their heads.

"We're good, Wendy and I are going to head to our room and then do a few quests. If you guys need anything, just let us know, bye!" Sven said as he and Wendy headed out of the room.

"He's a fast one! I'll leave you two alone, but if I think of any ideas, I'll make sure to write them down and hand them to you guys. I'll be upstairs with Rhythmi! Bye!" Keith said as he left the room.

"Great discussion, don't you worry Kellyn, you know what you're doing and so does everyone else. We'll be able to recover those gems!" Luana said as she kissed me on the lips.

"Thanks Luana, it'll be a difficult mission, but we can do it! For now though, I'll put this list of ideas in the nightstand where they'll be safe. I think I'll take a nap after you and I go to Dr. Rhythmi and see if your head is okay. It's only 5:29 P.M. so he'll still be in the office." I said as I put the paper in the nightstand drawer and opened the door for Luana as she walked through.

"Alright, we just have to go to the medical room and see if he isn't busy. Hopefully the examination can be done today. It means a lot that you care, I really appreciate it, thank you." Luana said as we headed up to the medical room.

"Not a problem Luana, I love you so much and I'm concerned for your well-being. If you ended up getting injured at the base, I would protect you with my life." I said as Luana teared up.

"Oh Kellyn, that's so sweet of you. I understand your concern but please don't protect me with your life, you mean so much to me. I would be broken if something happened to you." Luana said as she wiped away the tears and kissed my hand.

"I know, I always do what I can to make you happy. Let's see if Dr. Rhythmi is here." I said as Luana and I knocked on the door to the medical room that we always went in, since no one responded, we both entered and saw Dr. Rhythmi typing on his laptop. He smiled when he saw us and ushered us in.

"Kellyn, Luana, so nice to see you two! How are you doing?" Dr. Rhythmi asked.

"Hello Dr. Rhythmi, we're doing well thanks for asking. We came here because Luana needs the back of her head examined due to the damage she received a while back with a boulder. I'm sure my mother informed you of it and we figured that we would come here since we always tend to be in this medical room anyway." I said.

"Ah, I understand your concern Kellyn. Your mother did tell me of the injury and how Luana even received amnesia from it. I'm glad you made such a quick recovery thanks to the help of Kellyn." Dr. Rhythmi said as Luana smiled.

"Thank you Dr. Rhythmi. Is it okay if we get started? I'm a bit nervous about there being any possible skull damage that could occur due to the possibility of getting hit in the head again." Luana said as she sat down on the gurney as her hands trembled, though I held her hands gently and she stopped trembling.

"Of course Luana, no need to worry at all. I got the machine right here to check for any skull fractures or anything else that could have gone undetected." Dr. Rhythmi said as he took out a machine that was rectangular and had a small suction cup at the end.


	43. Chapter 43: Doctors and Preparation

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon at all!**

A/N: The group reach the facility at the end of the chapter and the next chapters will be interesting since it'll detail the inside. I figured having every chapter with action would get stale, so focusing on more regular things would be a good way to pace the story.

Chapter 43: Doctors and Preparation

Dr. Rhythmi moved some of Luana's hair and placed the suction cup at the back of it. The machine ran for a few minutes and I started to get nervous.

"Luana? Can you also do a general check up as well? Just…just to check for any other undetected problems, if you're okay with it, that is." I said as Luana smiled.

"Of course Kellyn, I know you're concerned about me, we can certainly do that once this test is done here!" Luana said.

"Great! The machine finished its tests and everything came back positive, you have no skull fractures or any other problems related to your skull. You have nothing to worry about as the back of your skull has not only healed but also strengthened as well. Let's go ahead and start the general checkup, let me get my scanner that can detect anything from heart murmurs to bone fractures!" Dr. Rhythmi said as he put away the machine and took out a scanner, which was yellow and circular, it also had an additional layer underneath it which was the same color.

Dr. Rhythmi ran the scanner over Luana, checking for any problems that could otherwise be missed and after a few minutes, the test was finished.

"Wonderful news! You're free from any abnormalities as well and your health is perfect!" Dr. Rhythmi said as Luana got up and hugged me tight.

"I'm so glad that Luana is okay. Would it be too much trouble to ask if I could receive a checkup as well? I wouldn't want to take up too much of your time so if you're not able to do so, that's okay." I said as Dr. Rhythmi smiled.

"It's no trouble at all Kellyn, it only takes a few minutes to do. Besides, everyone at the Ranger Union adores you two, just stay where you are and I'll do the test." Dr. Rhythmi said as he scanned me.

After a few minutes of waiting, the tests were finished as Dr. Rhythmi smiled once more.

"Just like with Luana, you also have no abnormalities at all. You both have great health!" Dr Rhythmi exclaimed as I hugged Luana.

"Great, thank you Dr. Rhythmi, we really appreciate it. We'll be seeing you, have a good evening!" I said.

Dr. Rhythmi waved happily to us and Luana and I waved back. We both exited the medical room and headed downstairs to our room and went inside.

"Phew, that was a bit scary going through those tests, but I'm glad that it's confirmed I'm okay. Thank you for caring so much about me, Kellyn." Luana said as I kissed her on the lips.

"No problem Luana, you mean a lot to me and making sure that you're healthy is what matters to me. Would you like to see if anyone needs our help? There might be some quests available!" I said.

"That's a good point, maybe we can see if someone in Pueltown or Vientown needs assistance. Someone might need us to find their missing Pokémon or child, I'm ready to go when you are!" Luana said as I opened the door and allowed her through as we both exited the Ranger Union.

"I'm definitely ready to go wherever you want to, besides, we can't let Sven and Wendy have all the fun!" I said as we both chuckled and reached Pueltown.

"Hmm, there has to be someone who needs our help in Pueltown. Let's see what the Styler says." Luana said as we both checked our Stylers.

As I checked my Styler, I noticed that it showed…absolutely no quests were available.

"Maybe there's a glitch or something? I would have thought by now there would be at least one citizen that needed our assistance. Maybe we could ask Marcus?" I asked.

"Good idea, it's possible that the information hasn't updated or something." Luana said as I called Marcus while Luana gazed lovingly at me, after a few rings, Marcus picked up.

"Hi Kellyn and Luana, how are you guys?" Marcus asked.

"Hello Marcus, Luana and I are doing good. We were in Pueltown and were going to complete some quests, however, we checked our Stylers and saw that there weren't any quests available. Luana and I were thinking the quest database is glitched or something, is it possible you could see if that's the case?" I asked.

"Oh man, that's really strange. It was working fine earlier this morning, maybe it's down for maintenance. Let me get Linda and we'll both look through the database to see what the issue is." Marcus said.

"Hi guys! It's me, Linda! Marcus and I already found out what the issue is, the server was temporarily down because of some malfunction that was occurring but it's all good now. You guys should see the quests now!" Linda said.

"Wow, you guys are quick, nice work Marcus and Linda!" Luana said.  
"Hahah, thanks guys. We look forward to seeing you guys complete more quests. Keep up the good work, see you guys later!" Marcus said as he hanged up.

"Awesome, now that the information has been updated, let's try to check what quests we can do!" I said as I wrapped my arm around Luana as we both checked our Stylers, finding that we had only one quest ready for us.

"This one is serious, the citizen needs help with a Starly that's sick. He's the younger security guard that's located at the cabin by Chroma Highlands. Are you ready to go?" Luana asked.

"I certainly am, let's go!" I said as Luana and I jogged over to the edge of Pueltown, heading over to the dirt path leading to Chroma Highlands.

As we continued walking along the path, we spotted a few Bellossom and a couple of Doduo. We soon came across the cabin with the younger guard outside, carefully holding a Starly.

"Hello again, thank you so much for what you two did for the Chroma Highlands. The Pokémon here are so appreciative, you guys are really awesome. So as the quest says, the Starly is quite sick. The only thing that I can think of is that Starly love being surrounded by each other, it's possible that this Starly simply wants to be around other Starly. Maybe you two can find a group of them? I saw about three or four of them by this log cabin, maybe they're still here." The guard said as he handed Starly over to us.

"No problem, we'll do what we can to help the Starly." I said as we went around the log cabin and looked around the cabin and trees for any signs of a nest.

Thinking it was odd that the Starly were stated to be around the log cabin, I assumed that they made a nest and once again looked around the log cabin and the trees since I thought that I could have missed the nest the first time.

As we went to the back of the log cabin, I saw that nestled in a tree that was close to the cabin was a nest which had three Starly that flew out of the nest and slowly made their way towards me as they examined the Starly that looked sick.

As the Starly opened its eyes, it saw its friends which immediately cheered up as the Starly flew back up the nest, content that it found its friends. Luana and I looked at each other and smiled and decided to walk back around to the front of the cabin where the guard was waiting.

"That was a simple quest, we're glad that we could help. Is there anything else you require of us?" I asked.

"That was really fast. I'm glad the Starly isn't sad anymore, it usually tends to forget where its nest is. However, it was rather surprised when it ended up flying back and discovering that its friends were gone. Poor Starly didn't know they were getting food and looked pretty distraught. Thanks for the help!" The guard said.

"You're welcome, it's a good thing the Starly is okay now. If you have any concerns, let the Ranger Union know and we'll do our best to help!" I said as we waved to the guard and started to walk back to the Ranger Union.

When we were halfway through Pueltown, Luana's legs started to shake as she struggled to stand to the point where she nearly fell on the ground, though I was quick to catch her as I started to get worried.

"Luana?! Don't worry, I'll help you!" I said as I helped keep her stable.

"Thank you Kellyn, I don't know what happened. Let's head over to the Ranger Union." Luana said as she and I walked slowly to the Ranger Union.

"Luana, I don't want you to put any more strain on your legs. Can I carry you?" I asked as Luana started trembling.

"Good idea Kellyn, I wouldn't want my leg to get any worse." Luana said as I lifted her up.

I ran over to the Ranger Union and reached there within minutes. I figured that heading to wherever Dr. Rhythmi was would be the best idea, so I headed up to the medical room where we last saw Dr. Rhythmi. The automatic door opened up as I hurried inside and spotted Dr. Rhythmi doing some paperwork.

"Dr. Rhythmi, please help, Luana's legs are injured and I'm not sure why!" I said as Dr. Rhythmi looked up from his paperwork, which he immediately put down once he saw Luana's condition as I put her on the gurney.

"Let me see what happened to Luana. I'm going to go and get some equipment; I'll be back in just a moment!" Dr. Rhythmi said as he bolted out of the room.

"Oh Luana…you'll be better soon my love, just take deep breaths if you start to feel stressed." I said as Luana smiled at me.

"Thank you Kellyn, I won't be worried as long as you're next to me. I always knew how smart you are, but I can tell how smart you are just from today alone. You came here right away and didn't just assume that the pain would wear off tomorrow morning or something, you brought me here immediately. There are quite a few cases I've read where someone's gotten injured and their boyfriend or girlfriend just thinks the pain will be better after a quick night's rest, usually it ends up with the pain being much worse than they realized. Don't ever feel like you're not smart, because the compassion you have is something that's outstanding and that's just one of the things I love about you." Luana said as I kissed her on the lips.

"You're welcome Luana, when I saw you wincing as we were walking, so I knew that the pain you were experiencing wasn't normal. I had to do what I could to help you, so I figured that I would come here." I said.

A few seconds later, Dr. Rhythmi came back in carrying a couple of complex looking machines.  
"Okay, I got the devices that can scan for anything wrong with your legs that the full body scanner might have perhaps missed. Let me start the tests now." Dr. Rhythmi said as he switched the machines on and ran them along Luana's injured legs.

After a few minutes, the machines beeped off with one of the indicators turning red.

"Hmm, it appears that Luana has some slight poison in her legs. It was from that rope that was around her, when the Ranger Union was attacked. I'll extract it right now, don't you two worry!" Dr. Rhythmi said as Luana and I looked at each other in shock.

Dr. Rhythmi got the same machines from before and stuck a small syringe in each of Luana's legs, which made her wince slightly. The machine removed the poison after a few minutes and Luana looked like she was in much less pain, which made me relieved as I hugged her tightly.

"Dr. Rhythmi, how come that poison wasn't detected before? Was it because it was such a small amount in Luana's bloodstream?" I asked as Dr. Rhythmi nodded.

"That's completely correct Kellyn, the amount of poison was nearly undetectable, but Luana receiving that pain in her legs and you bringing her up here certainly helped her. While the poison wouldn't have been fatal, Luana would have been in excruciating pain for several days." Dr. Rhythmi said.

"Thank you sir, is Luana all good to go?" I asked as Dr. Rhythmi smiled.

"She's all better now. You know, I always knew how amazing the chemistry between the two of you were since I first met the both of you and I can definitely see that you're happy together. I hope you two have a good evening, it's 7:20 P.M., so hopefully you two get something to eat soon!" Dr. Rhythmi said as Luana got up from the gurney.

"Thank you Dr. Rhythmi, you're very kind. We're going to go ahead and get some dinner; hope you have a good evening as well." Luana said as she took my hand and headed out of the door.

Luana and I made our way to the cafeteria and entered, getting our plates as we took some potato stew with some rice and a small plate of Oran berries. We both sat down to eat and finished our food quickly, satisfied that we had something to eat.

"That was good, wasn't it? I'm pretty full." I said as Luana smiled at me.

"It was pretty good; I'm feeling full as well. We did great work today, just like always, let's head downstairs." Luana said.

'_Awesome, it'll be the perfect opportunity to give Luana my present! I can't wait to see how happy she'll be once she sees what it is.' _I thought to myself as we headed to our room and went inside.

"Luana, do me a favor and close your eyes, I have a gift for you." I said as Luana did as instructed.

"A gift for me? Aw Kellyn, you didn't have to get me anything!" Luana said as I took out the painting.

"I definitely do, it's my way of showing my appreciation, you can open your eyes now!" I said as Luana opened her eyes as she smiled upon viewing the painting, which she held and admired before kissing me on the lips.

"This is a beautiful painting; it's so well done! I love how we're looking into each other's eyes as we're surrounded by tulips, that's such a sweet touch and it really suits us. Thank you Kellyn." Luana said as she put the painting on the nightstand.

Luana took out a frame that was in the nightstand's drawer which was complete with a kickstand. Luana put the painting inside the frame and propped up the painting, which looked even better with the frame.

"You're welcome Luana, I'm happy you like it so much! Close your eyes one more time, I got a gift for you. Please open them when I say so, you'll love this other gift!" I said as I gave Luana a kiss on the lips.

I went into the fridge and took out the cake slice and a fork, opening the container quietly and walking up to Luana, feeding her a few pieces as she giggled.

"Oh Kellyn, you're so sweet, thank you for the painting and that piece of cake. I'll give you a great present tomorrow, for now though, I'm tired, ready to head to sleep?" Luana asked as I quickly changed off into my pajamas and took my shoes off.

"I'm ready when you are, I'll be lying down and wait for you in the meantime." I said as I went on the bed and lied down.

Soon after, Luana changed into her pajamas and took her shoes off. Luana then took off the light and got into bed as she snuggled next to me. I started to get comfy until I felt very cold for some reason.

"Luana, I'm not sure why, but I'm feeling really cold…I'm pretty sure that it's not the A/C because Chairperson Erma doesn't like it cold. If it isn't too much of a bother, can you snuggle closer to me?" I asked as Luana kissed my nose.

"No worries Kellyn, I'll keep you safe and warm as you sleep. Good night, I love you." Luana said as she moved closer to me, which made me smile.

"Thanks Luana, I needed to hear that, good night, I love you too." I said as I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

As I woke up next morning, I saw Luana was coming out of the bathroom as I quickly got out of bed and fixed up the sheets.

"I won't be taking too long Luana, I'll be ready in fifteen minutes or so!" I said as Luana smiled while I went inside the bathroom.

I got myself ready in a few minutes, taking the usual shower and brushing my teeth. After I got out of the bathroom, I changed off and looked around, finding it odd that Luana wasn't anywhere to be found.

'_Hm, that's odd, usually Luana waits for me, hopefully she's okay, let me look around for her outside.' _I thought to myself as I headed out of the door, running right into Luana.

"Hi Luana! I was just looking around for you. Are you ready to go upstairs? We can get Keith and think of more ideas on what to do when we infiltrate the base." I asked.

"Hi Kellyn, I'm definitely ready! Discussing any sort of ideas we have would be a good plan since it's hard to predict those Team Dim Sun admins. I'm very sorry, I just needed to check up on something, I found out why it was so cold last night from Linda. Apparently a wild Glaceon got into the A/C unit since it needed somewhere to sleep and when they found it this morning, they had a Ranger take it to Shiver Camp so it'll be with the researchers." Luana said as we squeezed the Eevee toy.

"No need to be sorry, I'm glad the Glaceon is going to be there, it'll definitely love Shiver Camp and how peaceful it is." I said as Wendy opened the door.

"Hi guys, good morning! Sven and I are ready, are you guys headed upstairs?" Wendy asked.

"Hello Wendy, good morning to you too. We're going upstairs right now, Luana and I were going to get Keith and talk about other suggestions that we might have." I said as Wendy and Sven exited the room.

"Hello guys, good morning! That's awesome, do you think that Professor Hastings, Vatona and Nage have made some more progress on the location device?" Sven asked as we made our way to the third floor.

"I certainly think so; it would be rather interesting if Team Dim Sun actually did leave the gems in one location. Let's go see how they're doing!" I said as I saw Professor Hastings talking with Chairperson Erma.

"Wonderful, everyone is going to be so pleased to know that the device is finished. Thank you Hastings, you, Vatona and Nage did a fine job!" Chairperson Erma said as Keith waved to us as he came from the doorway leading to the Operators' sleeping quarters.

"Thank you Erma, it was hard work but we managed to get it done. Our wonderful Top Rangers are going to be excited since they'll know where the gems are." Professor Hastings said.

"Wow, they finished it, that's amazing!" Wendy said as we went over to Chairperson Erma and Professor Hastings.

"Hello Chairperson Erma and Professor Hastings, good morning. How are you doing Professor Hastings? I know that you, Vatona and Nage were possibly attacked by Jessica the other day, how are you guys recovering?" I asked as Professor Hastings smiled.

"We're all doing good, thank you. She only tied us up and tried taking the device but thanks to you two, that was thwarted. Speaking of which, let me show all of you the device, it doesn't emit any noise but it's already located the gems. I think all of you will be rather happy with the result." Professor Hastings said as he showed us the device.

"The device says that the gems are located in a offshore research facility!" Luana said.

"Good, we'll need to get some water or flying type Pokémon for that. Is there any information about the research facility itself?" I asked.

"Unfortunately we don't know who operates the facility, but we were able to obtain a map of the place. It's rather confusing so I think that the five of you staying together is a good idea." Professor Hastings said.

"This is going to be a great mission, but it'll be a bit scary since we don't know what to expect." Keith said.

"Don't you worry Keith; we came up with plans about the base yesterday. Even though it'll be a difficult task to invade the base itself, we'll be able to make it work. Once we get in, we'll use any means needed to locate those gems. I was also thinking we could disguise as Team Dim Sun admins and appear as if we're on their side. However, another problem I'm thinking of is the fact that Team Dim Sun has to know what we look like by now, meaning that disguises are out of the question." I said.

"Good point, I am thinking though, this is Team Dim Sun we're talking about, they might appear to be more serious this time around, but I'm certain they'll forget to do something important to preventing the factory from being invaded. They might even make it easy, but there's no way of knowing exactly what Team Dim Sun has in store for us. Either way, we should act as if we're infiltrating a base filled with experienced Team Dim Sun members, such as if we were fighting members as capable as the Sinis Trio or Kincaid." Luana said.

"That's right, we'll be able to do something about the enemy. How far will it take us to reach there?" Sven asked as I checked the device.

"It's quite a bit offshore, maybe forty minutes to an hour, something along that timeframe." I said.

"Hm, speaking of which, while getting to the facility by the air or sea is possible, something to look out for are any Pokémon that are out there. Regardless of what method of travel you choose, the Pokémon around that area are said to be vicious so make sure you all use precaution when heading there." Professor Hastings said.

"Don't worry Professor, we will." Keith said.

"I am thinking though, since it's a research facility, it might not matter what time of day we go to the facility. That's good news for us guys, heading there in broad daylight might work just as well as nighttime, so we'll see head on over there, we just need some Staraptors." I said as we waved to Professor Hastings and Chairperson Erma and headed downstairs.

"Alright, let's get our Partner Pokémon. Speaking of which, Keith, is your Buizel upstairs, or is he with our Pokémon?" Luana asked.

"Good question, Buziel's with your Pokémon in the Training Room, he needed to spruce up his attacks so I figured some move training would be what he needed." Keith said as we headed to the Pokémon Training Room and entered.

"Hi Ben, nice to see you!" I said as our Pokémon all went up to us, while Buizel hopped around Keith.

"Hello everyone, good to see you too! Your Pokémon are all ready to go, they've been fed and trained!" Ben said.

"Thanks Ben, we appreciate it, we'll see you later, bye!" Luana said as we exited the Pokémon Training Room and headed outside of the Ranger Union.

"Alright, now that we got our Pokémon, we can go ahead and get some Staraptors!" Sven said.

"That's right! Speaking of which, Wendy, is your Staraptor is ready to go?" Luana asked.

"Yup, he's all rested up! There are a few Staraptors over by Pueltown, let's head on over there." Wendy said as her Staraptor flew down from the Ranger Union's roof. Afterwards, we jogged over to Pueltown with her Staraptor flying alongside us.

As we entered Pueltown, we looked around for any additional Staraptors and found three of them resting, while one of them was on top of a tree. Keith went over to the one that was awake and captured it quickly, while Sven, Luana and I captured the three Staraptors. The four Pokémon spread their wings and flew over to us and we all hopped on as the Staraptors flew into the air. I checked the device, seeing what direction to go as I held onto Pachirisu.

"Okay guys just follow me; we'll need to be going south to reach the facility. There's no way to know what security we'll be facing but for now we'll be on alert. Once we reach closer to the facility, then we'll be on full alert for any incoming attacks." I said as everyone's Staraptors spread out a little, preventing us from being a target if any attacks were to occur.

The entire trip there was quick and wasn't a problem at all thanks to the Staraptors, though I wondered what would happen once we arrived.

"Hmmm, guys, I've been thinking, since we're headed to a research facility out in the ocean, they wouldn't really have any Flying type Pokémon out in the open, would they? Unless there was an area we could hide these Staraptors from being spotted, it would be rather difficult for them to go unnoticed and the facility could possibly even go on high alert." I said.

"That's very true, we'll try thinking of something but it's rather difficult to tell anything about the facility until we get there. While we could check our maps, it would be safer to do so when we actually go there since there's no telling who or what we'll encounter." Luana said.

"Exactly, another problem is that we can't even have the Staraptor fly back to the Ranger Union, it would take up a lot of time." Keith said.

"Yeah, plus what if something happens at the facility that we have to flee right away? The Staraptor are fast, but even they won't be able to reach us from the Ranger Union to the facility if something takes place." I said.

"Oh man, that would be awful. That won't happen though, we'll be able to get those three gems and come back safely! We got Partner Pokémon to help us out so we'll be okay along the way." Sven said.

"That's right! We just have to proceed carefully, getting spotted by a Team Dim Sun grunt or an admin wouldn't be good. Since this research facility has the gems, it'll be worrisome dealing with any researchers and the grunts that are there as well. Even with our Partner Pokémon, this is going to be troublesome, but we'll be able to handle it!" I said as I spotted the research facility in the distance.

"Alright, we're almost there! Let's get ready to be on the lookout for any guards." Wendy said as our Staraptors flew up higher so we can get a better vantage point.

As we got closer to the research facility, I saw that it had a large helipad overlooking the water, the facility itself was only one floor tall with the rest of it going far underneath the ocean's surface, though underneath the small facility we saw above the water, the rest was an elevator shaft which I saw we could access from a door on the far right. Looking at the facility itself, I could find no guards or any sort of weaponry situated around the area, which was a good thing for us. However, there was also no place for us to land the Staraptors and not have them be spotted. As I looked closer towards the bottom, I saw somewhere that could feasibly hold the Staraptors until we got the gems back while also keeping them out of harm's way.


	44. Chapter 44: The Research Facility (Pt1)

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Pokemon!**

Chapter 44: The Research Facility (Pt. 1)

"Guys, as you can all see, there isn't anywhere to put the Staraptors near the facility itself without them being spotted. However, halfway down that elevator is a large platform that they can fly down to. Let's go aboard the facility." I said as we landed on the facility's platform, close to the large helipad and the facility itself.

As we gathered our bearings from flying for a while, the Staraptor flew over to the platform that I showed everyone previously. We all slowly looked around the corner and saw that no one was around, so we headed towards the door as I checked around for some sort of alarm.

"Good, it appears like this door is good to go. Let's all stay together. Wendy, Sven, you guys will have Raichu and Vulpix helping you two out, while the rest of us have our Partner Pokémon. Stay as alert as you guys can, there's no telling how crafty these guys could be." I said as everyone nodded while we headed inside.

As we entered the room, we saw the three gems situated in glass containers while behind them was an elevator, to our right were multiple computers and at ten lockers, while to the left were several samples of water stored in beakers. Keith went to get the gems but I held him back, shaking my head gently.

"No way Keith, Team Dim Sun would be idiotic if they stole the gems from us and took them all the way here, only to put them right where we can see them. These gems have to be a trap, let's head down into the rest of the facility." I said.

"Hmm, you're right, it would be really dumb for them to just put them here." Keith said as I glanced at the water samples, finding it odd that all of the water samples were from Almia and nowhere else.

"Now this is weird, these water samples aren't from any other region, only Almia. I'm surprised that Team Dim Sun even has a research facility, but…where are the employees? It could be that this facility is simply just a façade to appear normal." I said.

"Good point, maybe the employees are downstairs and this is just a lobby of sorts." Wendy said as the door opened, with all of us running to the lockers and hiding inside, a few seconds later, we heard the sound of footsteps.

"Ugh, Ronald, I can't believe those Team Dim Sun grunts that came here keep bossing us around. We're research and development, but we're building the Ultimate Machine! Speaking of which, are these the three gems those Sinis Trio stole?" A man said.

"I know Jeff, those grunts are really annoying…their boss may own the place but just a little kindness would be nice. As for those gems you see there, those are fake. The ones that the Sinis Trio brought are downstairs deeper in the research facility." Ronald said.

"Oh wow, they look so real! What would happen if you were to take one?" Jeff asked.

"According to what I heard from a grunt who foolishly tried that, nothing. It's just there to confuse the Rangers who would eventually come here. I feel bad for those Rangers though, from what I've heard, they're all nice people, especially those Top Rangers. I should have worked for the Ranger Union instead, but Team Dim Sun tricked me, remember that?" Ronald asked.

"Yeah…I remember that, they said we'd be paid well and treated with respect. Yeah right. Speaking of those Rangers, two of them particular sound rather scary when angry, none of the grunts or admins would ever want to make them angry again. Their strength is ferocious, one of them is a male and the other is female and if one of them is scary enough, I don't want to imagine both of them enraged." Jeff said.

"S-scary…what stories did you hear about those two?" Ronald asked.

"One of the admins told me that one grunt who was stationed to be on the lookout for Rangers after moving a boulder got his nose broken by the female after he tried pushing the guy into the boulder, she also managed to destroy said boulder easily." Jeff said.

"T-that's terrifying!" Ronald said.

"That's not all, the guy has a temper just as fierce! I don't know what any of them look like, but if any Rangers come here, we'll be nice to them, especially since neither of us wanted to work with Team Dim Sun anyway." Jeff said.

"Agreed, let's go to our lockers, I need to get my lunch since both of our shifts are finally over." Ronald said as we heard them headed towards the locker I was in.

However, I heard one of the men scream and as one of them opened the locker, with his face wide-eyed, I lunged at him, tackling him to the ground as everyone else left their hiding spots. As we helped them up, I noticed Jeff and Ronald had light brown hair and brown eyes. They were soon relieved when they realized that we were Rangers.

"Hello, my name's Jeff and as you guys most likely overheard, that's Ronald. We're overjoyed that you guys are here. Those Sinis Trio people are nuts! You guys have to stop them!" Jeff said.

"Yeah, they're forcing us to build this dumb Ultimate Machine but didn't even give us any information to use or develop it. They just told us to use those Shadow Crystals to make the three gems useless." Ronald said.

"There are Shadow Crystals here? That's something we have to take care of…" Sven said.

"Oh you're not one of the scary Rangers we heard about, but yeah, those Shadow Crystals…they're awful…but that Ultimate Machine is worse." Jeff said.

"The Ultimate Machine? Tell us everything you know about it no matter how limited it is." I said.

"Ah! You're one of the scary Rangers…which means that woman with the black hair is the other scary Ranger! We'll tell you two everything we know!" Ronald said.

"Don't worry, we're not going to hurt you guys, just tell us the information calmly." Luana said.

"Phew…good. The Ultimate Machine is designed to control every Pokémon in Almia and would possibly even be strengthened to be more powerful than the Gigaremo or even the Miniremo and be able to control Pokémon in any region. We don't even know who the boss is, we just do as we're told! The project is only twenty percent complete, but we have a new researcher who's very good at technology which would speed the process up." Jeff said as we were all shocked while I started to panic.

"A machine that can control every Pokémon in Almia…even in other regions against their will. Their boss is unknown, but…it could also be Kincaid. If…if they have another researcher, especially one who's good at technology…then we need to do what we can to stop Team Dim Sun…" I said as I started struggling to breathe, though Luana put her hand on my shoulder, which made me relax a considerable amount as I started to breathe normally again.

"Rangers, just as a heads up, Kincaid came here via helicopter about an hour ago. Thankfully, the cameras for this facility are under maintenance so you guys are going to be okay and won't be spotted by but you guys are going to need an access card to use the elevator." Ronald said.

"Kincaid is here…hmmm, I got a great idea…what if we take Jeff and Ronald's access cards? We can also take that researcher as well, that could work, right?" I asked as everyone looked at each other.

"That could work! Jeff, Ronald, we'll need your access cards as well as an idea of where that researcher is located." Luana said as Jeff and Ronald handed over their key access cards.

I went ahead and put Jeff's card in my pocket while Luana put Ronald's in hers.

"Here you go, can you take us to the Ranger Union? The researcher should be on the third floor, he's only come here recently, so we don't know his name." Jeff said.

"Yeah, we really don't like it here!" Ronald said as I thought for a moment.

"Alright, we can do that, we would use a Staraptor but it'll take a while to reach to Almia…we need a Psychic type Pokémon." I said as an Abra teleported into the room.

I acted fast and drew a few loops around Abra before it managed to teleport away, capturing it within seconds.

"Nice work Kellyn, now we'll be able to get them away from this place!" Sven said.

"Thank you so much. We'll let the Ranger Union know of everything we told to the group of you!" Ronald said as he took his lunch.

"I'm still surprised that Team Dim Sun managed to keep this facility secret for so long. Prior to you guys, the only people who knew about this place were the workers and Team Dim Sun." Jeff said.

"Well, now we're going to infiltrate their base so they better watch out!" Wendy said.

"Good, be careful, there's five floors including the very bottom of the facility. Thank you!" Jeff said.

"We'll be fine! Thanks for the help, we'll let our Top Operator know of your arrival. Abra, please teleport these two to the lobby of the Ranger Union." I said as Abra did as instructed, promptly teleporting the two researchers, after Abra did so, it also teleported away.

"Great work! Let me call Marcus and let him know!" Luana said as she called Marcus, who picked up right away.

"Hi everyone! How can I help you guys?" Marcus asked.

"Hi Marcus, we had two researchers named Jeff and Ronald, teleported your way. They have information about something called the Ultimate Machine which once completed, can control every Pokémon. They can explain to you and the interrogators in detail, we got five floors to go through!" Luana said.

"Wow, thanks for letting me know, I appreciate it! I'll make sure to get someone to greet them. Good luck you guys, bye!" Marcus said.

"No problem Marcus, bye!" Luana said as she hanged up.

"Nice, it's time to use these access cards!" I said as we scanned the cards which opened the elevator door as we all stepped inside.

There was only one button, which headed to the B2F. I pressed the button and after a few seconds, the elevator door closed and we moved downwards to reach the second floor. As we reached the second floor, we all stepped out and looked to our right, we could see a small opening that showed Pokémon swimming around, such as Sharpedo, Carvanha and Remoraid, to the left was a long hallway which stretched on for a while.

"Woah, this is awesome! All we have to do is find the other elevator or staircase to go downwards." Sven said as we went down the long hallway and looked around for any doors.

We were perplexed when we finished walking down the hallway, as there were no doors to be found. However, I spotted a suspicious looking blue button on the wall which piqued my interest.

"Guys, we haven't found any door here and there's nowhere else to go, this blue button could be the only way forward. It would be strange if there wasn't anywhere for the workers to sleep or eat, aside from that, this room is completely empty. I'm thinking we should press it, any objections?" I asked as everyone shook their heads.

"I agree with you, that's a pretty good point. Let's press it!" Sven said as we all pressed the button.

Soon after, the wall next to the blue button slid upwards and revealed another elevator. I scanned the keycard to open the door and it opened up as we all entered. Just like before, this elevator only had one button, as I pressed it, the elevator doors closed as we headed downwards, deeper into the facility.

"I wonder what the next floor will be like, hopefully it won't be anything like the Hippowdon Ruins!" Keith said.

"I know, that place was so weird." Wendy said as the elevator doors opened.

As we stepped outside and walked down the hallway, we saw an electrical grid where no electricity was running through. Pachirisu ran over it and confirmed it was safe, so we all walked over it. Further down the hallway and to our left, we saw a long hallway with a door at the end of it. Straight ahead of us was an active electrical grid and past that grid was a sharp turn to the left.

"Okay, let's head to that doorway over there, we'll need to be cautious as we do so." I said as we all walked down the hallway.

As we reached the end of the hallway, I opened the door and as we all stepped inside, we could see several cabinets, bookshelves and tables scattered throughout the room as something shined in the distance. When we made our way over to the shining object, we saw that it was a lever flipped on, with a sign that said taking the switch off would deactivate the electrical security system.

"Perfect, we can continue onwards now that we found a way to take off that electrical grid!" I said as Keith grinned.

"Excellent, can I do it?" Keith asked.

"Of course you can, go ahead!" I said as Keith flipped the switch.

"Awesome, since that's done, let's head back outside before any grunts show up!" Luana said as we exited the room.

As we walked down the long hallway and were nearing the corner before we had to turn left to reach the electrical grid, I spotted a man hanging on the ceiling with suction cups. Of course, he was a Team Dim Sun grunt, who dropped down and landed on his feet as he took out a Miniremo.

"Like my entrance? I sure hope so, because you Rangers aren't getting out of here!" The grunt said as he typed on the machine.

Within a few seconds, we heard the screech of a Pokémon as a Crobat came into view. It looked very angry as it started to attack, spitting puddles of poison which we were able to dodge.

"Pachirisu, use Thunderbolt on that Crobat to slow it down!" I said as Pachirisu unleased energy and stunned the Pokémon from moving as much as it did previously.

Luana made several loops around the Pokémon and paid no attention to the grunt was now wondering why his Crobat didn't move. After a few minutes, the Pokémon was captured and the Miniremo immediately malfunctioned as the grunt stormed off.

"Great work Luana, good work Pachirisu! Let's go to that electrical grid!" I said as we made a sharp left, with the electrical grid being completely off.

As we turned the corner, we saw another long hallway with a door at the end. Just as we were about to enter the door, a Team Dim Sun grunt popped out from the wall as she smirked.

"You guys aren't going anywhere! I'll stop the five of you and get myself a promotion!" The grunt said as she took out a Miniremo and started typing.

After a few seconds, we heard a loud bang from behind us and we quickly turned around to see a Hariyama running straight at us, I reacted quickly and called out to Pachirisu.

"Pachirisu, use Thunder Wave!" I shouted as Pachirisu did so, with the Hariyama unable to move as I started to make loops around it.

Eventually the Hariyama broke free from paralysis and continued to charge. I knew I had to act fast considering how dangerous an angry Hariyama could be. I had Pachirisu and Raichu come up front.

"Raichu, Pachirisu, use Thunder Wave!" I said as both Thunder Waves connected, stunning the Hariyama once more as I continued making loops while also getting into position in the event that it broke free from paralysis again.

Thankfully, I was able to capture the Pokémon as the mind control wore off. The Hariyama looked around and wondered where it was, when it finished looking around, it turned and lumbered away. As I turned back around, I saw the Miniremo in pieces as the grunt cowered away from us.

"Y-you actually captured that Pokémon? You're something else…now it's time to run away!" The grunt said as she moved past us and ran down the hallway.

"Great work Kellyn! That Hariyama was terrifying, you did an awesome job in capturing it!" Luana said as I grinned.

"Thanks Luana, let's head downwards, the gems might be guarded by the Sinis Trio, so we'll have to be careful." I said as I tried pulling the door which wouldn't budge, I then tried to push it open and nothing would happen either.

"Sheesh, what's with this place?" Keith asked.

"I'm not sure, but I'll need to break this door open. Stand back a bit." I said as I kicked the door open, seeing that it received a large dent before it flew down a long staircase.

I turned around and saw everyone's faces were wide eyed, as they clearly didn't expect me to kick the door that hard.

"I'm really glad that I wasn't that door, that thing got destroyed!" Sven said as we all went down the staircase.

As we reached the B3F, we saw the door off to the side, along with five Team Dim Sun grunts, three female and two males, who were at the far end of the room, cowering by a bookshelf. I slowly approached them only to have them move closer together as one of them pulled out a Miniremo and tried typing something in despite his trembling hands.

"I'm not going to hurt you guys; you can all relax." I said.

"Who…who kicked that door?" The grunt that was typing on the Miniremo asked.

"I did, er…sorry about that, the door wouldn't open." I said as the grunts moved even closer to each other.

"We'll…we'll fight you guys as best as we can." The grunt said as he and the other grunts took out Miniremos and shakily typed in their commands.

"Guys, what if we destroy their Miniremos? They're already trembling quite a lot. What do you guys think?" I whispered.

"Good idea, let's do it!" Luana said in a hushed tone as we rushed up to the grunts who were surprised by us.

Each of us destroyed a Miniremo as the grunts all trembled in fear, four of them ran past us while the one who spoke to us stayed behind with his eyes wide.

"Please…don't hurt me." The grunt said.

"We won't, do you know where the gems are? Or how to reach the next floor?" Sven asked as the grunt thought for a moment.

"One of the gems is on the B4F while another is located on the B5F. I think there's a gem located here but I'm not sure where they specifically are." The grunt said.

"Hmm, we'll take you with us, it's rather dangerous here with all these grunts around." Wendy said.

"Exactly, plus those gems are going to be well guarded. You would be great in dealing with the other grunts as well." Sven said as the grunt panicked.

"W-what?! I told you guys where the gems are, plus the grunts aren't so bad!" The grunt said.

"We don't know that; you're going to be with us. Like I said earlier, we're not going to hurt you, so you have no reason to worry." I said as the grunt stopped trembling.

"Alright, I'll help you guys out, but only because working for Team Dim Sun is a pain! My name's Jeremy, the exit out of the room is this way, it'll take you to where that gem might be." Jeremy said as we followed him.

As we exited the room, we saw a decent sized hallway with five doors, two on each side, and one at the very end. We went through the first room on the left and saw some tables, chairs and three keys on a small filing cabinet.

"Those keys over there are for that door at the very end, only one of them works and I'm not sure which one is the right one. However, I do know that Ice is waiting in one of these rooms. He's scary, but not as much as you guys!" Jeremy said as I took the keys and put them in my pocket.

_'__Jeremy might be giving us information, but I'll still be cautious with what he's saying. After all, we're in enemy territory.' _I thought to myself as we rummaged through the filing cabinet, not finding anything of interest inside.

After we looked around for anything else in the room and found nothing, we decided the best thing to do would be exiting the room in case there was a trap waiting for us. As we exited the room, we saw another door directly across from us.

"Alright, let's see who's going to be in this room!" Sven said as we opened the door.

As we all entered, we saw dozens of monitors, chairs and tables that were fully working and operational. As we looked around the room once more, nothing really caught my attention at first, until I saw someone working on a computer monitor, who looked extremely familiar with his mushroom haircut.

"Isaac? Is that you? How have you been?" I asked as Isaac spun around in surprise.

"Kellyn? Keith? It's so nice to see you guys! But…what are you and your friends doing here?" Isaac asked.

"We're here to find the three gems in this research facility, plus we're trying to disable the electrical grids as well so we can move around easier." Keith said as Isaac looked confused.

"The three gems? I can take you guys to get them, I'm on my lunch break anyways! I think they're being protected by the Sinis Trio. Oh, hello Jeremy, I didn't see you there, how are you?" Isaac asked.

"I'm good, you should come along with these guys, they're really scary!" Jeremy said as Isaac laughed.

"Hahah, scary? I may not know the other three, but Kellyn and Keith aren't scary, they're friendly! Who are your friends?" Isaac asked.

"This is Luana, she's my girlfriend and this is Sven and Wendy, great friends of ours." I said as Isaac shook each of their hands.

"It's nice to meet all of you! You're Kellyn's girlfriend? Awesome, glad to know Kellyn found someone to make him happy! Let's get going guys, I'll show you where Ice is!" Isaac said as we all followed him out of the room.

"By the way Isaac, how come you're in this research facility working for Team Dim Sun anyhow?" I asked.

"Well I help out Mr. Kincaid, he's the boss of this facility! I'll show you where he is after I talk with Ice, Leilani and Heath about the three gems and how you guys need them." Isaac said as all of us, even Jeremy, looked at each other in surprise.

"Ah, okay, Isaac, thank you, we really appreciate your help. Speaking of Kincaid and the Sinis Trio, did any of them mention anything about Rangers coming?" Wendy asked.

"Hmmm, actually Wendy, they did! Kincaid mentioned needing to stop some Rangers before they get inside the facility and he came by helicopter, which I thought was odd because we have some Psychic Pokémon that can teleport people out of here. I don't know why he would want to stop Rangers though." Isaac said.

"That's rather strange, can you show us where the Psychic Pokémon are? We need to teleport Jeremy to the Ranger Union!" Luana asked as Jeremy jumped.

"The Ranger Union? I'd love to go there, the people there are nice!" Jeremy said as we made our way down the hallway and came across a door that was labeled as the teleportation room.

"I agree to that; wouldn't you want to talk with some of the Rangers there? I've always wanted to see the Ranger Union's interior, it's such a beautiful building! Let's go inside guys!" Isaac said as he used his keycard to open the door.


	45. Chapter 45: The Research Facility (pt 2)

**Disclaimer: I still don't own****Pokemon!**

Chapter 45: The Research Facility (Pt. 2)

As we entered, we saw several bookshelves, tables and cabinets along with a few Psychic type Pokémon, a Kirlia, Espeon and a Kadabra. Each of them were clearly mind-controlled based on their slight expressions of pain.

_'__Okay, what I'll do is look around for a Miniremo, destroy it, and then capture the Pokémon so they won't be in pain anymore. That sounds like a solid plan for me.' _I thought to myself as Jeremy walked up to the Pokémon.

"Isaac, do you happen to know where the Miniremo is?" I asked as Isaac appeared puzzled.

"Hm? There's a Miniremo in this room, it's right here by this table. Why?" Isaac said as I smashed the Miniremo to bits, crushing the machine with my bare hands as I bared my teeth and became enraged, shocking everyone aside from Luana by my display of strength.

Everyone turned at the Pokémon and we saw that their faces were relaxed now and weren't in pain anymore. The Pokemon stretched and relaxed peacefully as they looked at us curiously.

"Isaac, those Miniremos are dangerous devices that can control Pokémon and have them do things against their will. I'm glad I was able to destroy that machine, just know that it's not your fault either." I said as Isaac trembled.

"Those…those Miniremos harmed Pokémon? Mr. Kincaid had me manufacture one and he produced more of them. He told me that they were research equipment for his team…I…I caused harm to those Pokémon." Isaac said.

"No you didn't, you were manipulated by him. We'll pay Kincaid a visit once we teleport Jeremy to the Ranger Union and get the three gems." I said as Isaac and Jeremy both relaxed as I drew some loops around Kadabra, capturing it as it didn't move.

"You know…now I know that you guys aren't so scary after all." Jeremy said as he smiled.  
I got some rope and gently tied Jeremy's hands, at first he seemed a bit confused so I figured I would explain it to him so he wouldn't panic.

"Don't worry, the rope is because of the fact that you still have the uniform on and could be considered a threat when you get teleported to the Ranger Union." I said as Jeremy nodded.

"Ah that makes sense, can I go to the Ranger Union now?" Jeremy asked.

"You certainly can. Kadabra, please teleport Jeremy to the Ranger Union's lobby please." I said as Kadabra did as instructed and then teleported away.

"Wow, nice work Kellyn! Let me go ahead and let Marcus know of the grunt that they'll be getting." Luana said as she called Marcus, who picked up immediately.

"Hello everyone, what do you guys need?" Marcus asked.

"Hi there Marcus, we just had a grunt teleported to the Ranger Union lobby. We wanted to let you know so no one panics at seeing a grunt there. Bye!" Luana said.

"Gotcha, some Rangers brought him up already, thanks guys. Goodbye!" Marcus said as he hanged up.

"Alright, nice, now that Jeremy's safe, we can continue onwards. Let's capture these Pokémon and take them with us." I said.

I approached the Kirlia and Espeon and the both of them attacked me with some Psybeams but I managed to evade them as best as I could. I made loops around both Pokémon when I got an opening and after a few minutes of evading their attacks and drawing loops around them, I eventually caught both of them.

"Good thing you caught those Pokémon, if any of those Team Dim Sun grunts came in and saw that they were free from being controlled, they would just force the Pokémon to be mind-controlled again." Isaac said.

"That's right, it's rather sad what Team Dim Sun would do in order to make sure that they win. We'll have to do what we can in the event that we encounter any of them soon." I said as we exited the room.

"Time to enter this fourth door, Ice has to be in this room." Sven said as I tried opening the door, finding that it didn't budge whether I pushed or pulled it.

"Espeon, use Psychic on this door please." I said as Espeon's eyes glowed blue as it opened the door.

I gently patted Espeon on the head as we all headed inside the room. As we entered, we found that it was almost completely empty besides a large table with a cloth over it and as expected, Ice was there with his back turned to us. Ice turned around quickly and he was very astonished, but he then became calm once more as he grinned.

"Hello there Kellyn, Luana, Wendy, Sven and Keith. I've been awaiting your arrival. Kincaid is furious with the five of you since you decided to take the gems back…now you guys have decided to kidnap Professor Isaac?! You guys are even more sly than we are. Don't worry Isaac, I'll save you!" Ice said as he took out a Miniremo, typing angrily.

We waited around for a few seconds, wondering what Pokémon we would face and soon encountered a Rhyperior as it was filled with rage.

"A Rhyperior? Most of our Pokémon's moves won't have much effect." Sven whispered.

"I know, but we have Keith's Buizel to help us out, plus Thunder Wave can still work as well as Psychic type moves from Kirlia or Espeon." I said in a low voice as our Pokémon went to the side of the room and got into position until we heard an enraged screech as an Abomasnow trudged onto the field.

"You guys are threatening, so I brought two Pokémon to this battle. That way it's a bit more fair." Ice said.

"We got this! Buneary, use Jump Kick on that Rhyperior!" Luana said as Buneary dove forward and kick Rhyperior hard, sending it sprawling back.

"Vulpix, use Flame Wheel on Abomasnow!" Sven said as Vulpix did so, making Abomasnow not able to attack as much as Luana and Sven made loops around both Pokémon.

The Rhyperior eventually recovered from the move as I took over from Luana while Wendy took over from Sven. Keith had his Buizel use Bubblebeam on both Pokémon, slowing them down considerably. Rhyperior then started to throw rocks at us which we dodged as they left dents in the wall behind us. I took a glance at my Styler and saw that Rhyperior's friendship meter was almost filled up, while Abomasnow's was halfway.

"Alright, Pachirisu, Raichu, use Thunder Wave on both Pokémon!" I shouted as both Pokémon did so, making Abomasnow and Rhyperior paralyzed.

I quickly went ahead and did some remaining loops on Rhyperior, I was happy that I was able to catch it since the paralysis wouldn't have lasted long. After this, the Rhyperior then walked past us and went out the door, leaving us to deal with the Abomasnow, which soon started to unleash a Blizzard attack as it created a flurry of snow in the room. It then tried to use Ice Beam on us, but immediately stopped as it noticed Isaac in the corner. I took this opportunity and made several loops around Abomasnow, making its friendship meter rise to fifty percent until it started to charge up a Solarbeam.

"Vulpix, use Flame Wheel on that Abomasnow!" Sven told Vulpix as it unleashed a Flame Wheel and sent it flying towards Abomasnow, which cancelled out its attack after being hit with the flames.

After making several loops around Abomasnow, I eventually grew tired and let Luana take over as the Flame Wheel prevented the Pokémon from attacking at all. I checked my Styler and saw that its friendship meter was now at seventy percent, with Ice looking very angry as Luana made more loops around it and continued dodging a few Razor Leaves. Abomasnow then tried using Razor Leaf against Luana as I pulled her out of the way, with the leaves barely missing her. Luana smiled at me as she continued to do a few more loops on the Pokémon, capturing it after a lengthy battle.

_'__There were some aggressive Pokémon that we've faced, but this Abomasnow in particular was something else. I'm glad Luana didn't have any trouble capturing it.' _I thought to myself as the Abomasnow moved past us and headed out of the room.

"Nice work Luana, you did awesome!" I said as Isaac came over to us.

"Thanks Kellyn, you saved me from that Razor Leaf, that was a close one!" Luana said as we glared at Ice.

_ '__Good, Luana's safe and both Pokémon are captured, it's time to get the Blue gem from Ice.' _I thought to myself as we all approached Ice.

"Ice, we need the Blue gem, now." I said as Ice trembled while Sven and Wendy held him down.

"Fine…it's underneath this table…" Ice said as I cautiously removed the cloth, discovering the Blue Gem with the small tracker that Chairperson Erma put on it.

I safely put the Gem in my jacket where it would be safe and then headed over to everyone else. Sven and Wendy released Ice and he went back over to the table, sitting on it as he sighed.

"What's wrong Ice?" Wendy asked.

"If you must know, it's Leilani, she's been acting…different." Ice said.

"Different? How so? What happened to her?" Keith asked.

"Well…after fighting with Kellyn and attempting to kill Luana, she's become unstable. It's frightening to say the least." Ice said.

"When you say unstable…how unstable are we talking about?" Luana asked.

"Unstable enough that she made a mask that looks almost identical to you. When you guys all go downstairs and head into the room she's in, make sure that Luana isn't in the same room." Ice said as I did a double take.

"Thanks Ice, we'll be careful." I said.

"I know, hopefully she doesn't flip out when she sees Isaac, she'll probably think that you're trying to kidnap him." Ice said.

"I'll try to reason with her, Leilani's always been trying to defeat you guys whenever I was on my break and headed over to her room. It was frightening." Isaac said.

"Don't worry, we'll be okay, Ice." Keith said as we approached Ice, intending to bring him in, though Ice grinned and immediately vanished as he was surrounded by Psychic energy.

"Uh…what happened?" Keith asked.

"Ice just vanished, so he had a Psychic type warp him away as we tried to apprehend him." Luana said we exited the room.

"Wow, it's even worse because we have no clue where he went to. Let's not worry about Ice since these Gems are the main concern, however, it's good that we've got the Blue Gem, now we just need to see which of these three keys can open this door. Hopefully there aren't any silent alarms or anything like that. Let's go!" I said as we walked down the hallway.

When we approached the door, I took out the three keys and examined each of them, I put the first key in, only for it to not turn at all and I then put the second key in, managing to turn it as the door opened. Afterwards, I handed the second key to Keith and then put the two remaining keys back in my pocket as we headed down the stairs.

When we made our way to the fourth basement floor, we discovered a long hallway. Halfway down the hallway was an electric grid that was turned off, followed by four electrical grids that were active and crackling with electricity.

"Sheesh, that looks like a mess. Let's see where we need to go to deactivate those grids." Luana said as we all examined the hallway.

"I find this to be very odd, the only thing the hallway consists of is the electric grids and that door at the end. I've never even been down here before." Isaac said as I looked to my right and noticed what looked like a piece of tarp over the wall.

"I agree, but I've just found out why it looks like we can't move forward. Stand back!" I said as I pulled the tarp down, revealing a room that was wide enough to hold three doors.

"Woah, nice work Kellyn, let's enter through this first door. Hopefully Leilani isn't in this one." Sven said as we entered the room, noticing several chairs and bookshelves scattered around as I spotted a small level at the end of the room.

I cautiously looked around and didn't see anywhere that grunts could hide, though I still approached slowly since grunts have been hiding on the ceiling and the wall. As I was halfway across the room with everyone else following me, I saw something dart across the room quickly as the lights shut off, surrounding us in darkness.

"Guys…what was that?" Keith whispered.

"I don't know, but hopefully it was a Team Dim Sun grunt." Wendy said in a hushed tone.

As I looked near the back of the room, there was someone sitting on a chair, holding a Miniremo as they started to type on it. I checked the room for a light switch and didn't find anything, though after a few seconds, I heard some footsteps as I spotted a Luxray walking over to us. Afterwards, the lights flicked back on as I saw the person sitting on a chair had a sheet over them.

"You know, that was actually pretty unique. A Team Dim Sun grunt hasn't ever tried something like that before." I said as the individual removed the sheet, revealing a female Team Dim Sun grunt.

"Thanks, the grunts down here need to make each other laugh after what happened to Leilani. I'll still have to fight you guys first though." The grunt said as the Luxray used a weak Discharge, which didn't last long.

I made a few loops around the Luxray, it didn't attack us after it used Discharge and I was able to catch it quickly. The Miniremo malfunctioned and the Luxray went out of the room as the grunt put the sheet over a chair.

"Good work, as you guys can tell, I didn't really want to fight. We're just worried about Leilani; she became obsessed with the Ranger next to you after she tried killing her." The grunt said.

"We heard that from Ice as well. I'm surprised she became obsessed with her, it's rather eerie, isn't it?" Isaac asked.

"Yeah, it is, she's in one of those two rooms. Many of the grunts do whatever she asks us to do, we're afraid of her." The grunt said.

"Wow, we appreciate the help!" Sven said.

"No worries, hopefully you guys beating her doesn't make her more scary." The grunt said as we all exited the room.

When we made our way to the three doors, I went to the middle one and tried one of the keys as the door unlocked right away. Taking the key and opening the door, I saw the room that was filled with filing cabinets and a few tables and chairs. Towards the back of the room, I saw a woman with her back turned to us as she wore a pink uniform.

"Luana, I know that everyone recommended you stay outside if you saw Leilani and I definitely agree with them. She's very unstable and dangerous, so you'll be in much more danger compared to any of us." I said.

"That's right, we'll all be spread out and not as close to Leilani in case she tries to harm us." Sven said.

"Yeah, we'll be in and out quickly, let's go!" Keith said as he rushed inside.

"I don't know about that, but we'll be careful in this room. Don't worry!" I said as Luana relaxed a bit.

"Good, just be careful. I'll guard the door." Luana said as I kissed her cheek and headed inside, with Sven, Wendy and Isaac following me.

Right when we entered the pitch-black room, the door slammed shut and I tried to open it to allow some light in, which didn't work. Afterwards, we all fumbled around to look for a light switch. I felt someone bump into me as they fell to the ground and I figured it was Keith only based on him running into the room earlier. We heard some eerie giggling in the corner of the room and in a split second, the lights came on, with Keith being on the ground as I helped him up, while Sven, Wendy and Isaac were by some lockers.

In the corner of the room was Leilani, with her back turned to us. She slowly turned around, wearing a mask that looked just like Luana, as Ice said. I was disturbed by this, and she could tell as she giggled once more and stood up, walking over to us and stopping halfway. I briefly glanced over at the expressions of everyone else, and they were just as shocked as I was by seeing her wear this mask.

"Well now…if it isn't Kellyn and his friends. Like the new look? I certainly do." Leilani said.

"Why…why do you have a mask that looks like Luana?" Keith asked as Leilani giggled once more while we all moved away from each other.

"She's an interesting Top Ranger, there's nothing wrong with trying to look like her…besides, I was angry after that fight I had with Kellyn. Aside from that…it's time to fight. I assume you're all here for the Red Gem. I'm surprised that you're all taking Isaac away from this lovely facility as well." Leilani said as she pulled out a Miniremo and started typing, as she didn't take her eyes off me.

"She really is unstable, no matter what Pokémon she throws at you guys, I know that all of you will give it all you've got!" Isaac said as our Pokémon got into position.

After a few seconds, we heard footsteps and saw two Primeape and three Sceptile surround us, eyes filled with rage. The Primeape closest to me tried to charge at me right away, though Kirlia and Espeon pushed it back towards the other Primeape which was charging at Sven.

"Pachirisu, paralyze those Sceptile!" I shouted as both Pokémon managed to paralyze the three Sceptile, as Wendy, Keith and Sven drew loops around them while Isaac stayed in a corner, trying to avoid getting attacked as I started making loops around the Primeape, which were knocked out.

I was able to capture one of the Primeape quickly, doing so before it was able to wake up while the other one charged at me once more, though Vulpix used Flamethrower on it, managing to burn it and send it flying back towards Leilani.

I continued making loops around the Primeape and managed to capture it as well, which made both of them look around as they left the room. I put my attention to the three Sceptile and found that two of them were still paralyzed, while another one was nearly free from paralysis. Keith had his Buizel use Bubblebeam on them while Sven and Wendy were drawing loops around one each.

"Pachirisu, use Thunder Wave!" I said as Pachirisu did so.

Thankfully, the three Sceptile were stunned as I quickly took over for Keith. I managed to capture one of the Sceptile after making several more loops while Sven and Wendy caught the other two. The Pokémon all fled the room as the Miniremo malfunctioned, as we turned to Leilani, I could see her smirking as she took off the mask and started to giggle, though this time, it wasn't creepy.

"Good work Rangers, I'm glad you guys beat me, it was fun acting crazy!" Leilani said.

"Wait, you mean to tell us you only pretended to be crazy? Why?" I asked.

"Because my girls would always keep complaining about how cramped it is on this floor, so I figured if I acted crazy, they would just leave me alone!" Leilani said.

"Well…it definitely worked." I said as Leilani walked up to us and handed over the Red Gem, which I took and put away with the Blue Gem.

"This is for you. You all did a rather good job in beating me so I'll deactivate two of those electric grids, the remaining two are in the last room. It was pretty fun to take advantage of this room's faulty wiring and use a button to close the door, I must have gotten you guys pretty good!" Leilani said as she pulled down two levers that were between some bookshelves.

"You certainly did, it was…interesting. Thanks for the gem, we'll be going now." Wendy said as we took a step forward, with Leilani disappearing as well.

After that, we all ran from the room, with Luana turning around with a smile on her face.

"We got the gem, funnily enough, the interesting part is that Leilani was only acting like she was crazy so the grunts that work with her would leave her alone and she also teleported away just like Ice." Keith said.

"Yup, but still, she did try killing you before, so I'm not sure why she's giving the appearance of being so different now." Sven said.

"Maybe she's trying to give off the impression that she's nice or something…or at least as nice as a Sinis Trio could be." I said.

"That's a good point, I could see her pretending to be nice for now and then the next time you guys encounter her, she uses even more vicious Pokémon against all of us. It seems rather strange that she goes from trying to kill me and attack you, to being the complete opposite. I'm also wondering where the Sinis Trio are going once they teleport away." Luana said.

"That's a good point…maybe we'll find out soon enough!" I said as I opened the third door.

When we entered the third room, we saw two grunts struggling to keep a locked closed, which was nearly bursting at the hinges with what appeared to be clothes. The door we entered from closed by itself as the grunts jumped at the noise, their eyes were wide with fear when they spotted us.

"Er…hello Rangers, don't mind us, we're just trying to stash away our dirty laundry!" One of the grunts said.

"That sounds awful! Can you guys help us deactivate the electric grids?" Wendy asked as the same grunt went over to a table and flipped two switches, turning off the electric grid outside.

"Uh Harold, did you just deactivate the grids for them?!" The grunt said.

"Yes I did Joe, since I helped them, maybe they'll help us!" Harold said as Keith went over to them and pushed the locker door shut.

"There you go, I hate doing the laundry, I usually stuff it under my bed! Maybe you guys could try that!" Keith said.

"Under the bed huh? We'll try that, thanks!" Joe said as we left the room.

"How did that even work?" Isaac asked.

"I don't know but if it makes things easier for us, that's a good thing!" Keith said as we headed back to the electrical grids, surprised to still find them deactivated.

"Raichu, check those grids to make sure the electricity is actually deactivated!" Sven said as Raichu went across, confirming it was safe as we all went across the electrical grids, reaching the other side where the door was.

"Good work guys, let's try the last key!" I said as I put the last key in the door.

The door opened and we saw an elevator, which needed a key card to enter, we tried using the key cards we had, but they didn't work.

"That's odd…those cards aren't working. Let me try mine." Isaac said as he scanned his key card, which opened the elevator doors as we all entered while I pressed the button to go to the next floor.

"Nice, now that we're able to head to the next floor, we'll have to get the Yellow Gem now. If Heath is the one we're fighting…we need to be extremely careful. Isaac, if he sees you, he'll most likely become enraged and think we're trying to kidnap you." Wendy said.

"That's correct, Isaac, since we're most likely going to be fighting Heath in a room, stay outside where you'll be safe. One of us will stay with you so no grunts try to take you or anything like that." I said.

"Good plan Kellyn! I don't remember Heath too much, I didn't see him very often, but one or two days ago, Kincaid was with him something. I assumed that it was about the facility, but I couldn't hear what they were talking about." Isaac said.

"That's odd…maybe Heath and Kincaid were talking about what to do when we come here. Maybe Heath has traps or something planned for us." Luana said.

"That's always a possibility, we'll really need to be careful." Wendy said as we reached B5F.

As we all stepped out, we saw that there was a large room with a door at the end.

"This is so weird; I would have expected another hallway on this floor. Let's move carefully as we traverse through this floor." I said as we all slowly walked forward.

I observed my surroundings for any grunts or admins that may have been hiding. Thankfully, I didn't see any that were in any possible hidden parts of the walls. However, I looked up and stopped in my tracks when I saw an admin hanging on one of the exposed pipes.


	46. Chapter 46: The Research Facility (Pt 3)

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Pokemon!**

Chapter 46: The Research Facility (Pt. 3)

"Guys…look up, there's an admin waiting for us." I whispered as everyone stopped moving as the admin dropped down from his hiding spot.

"Hah, you spotted me, huh? Don't you worry, I came prepared!" The admin said as he pressed a button, revealing hidden panels as ten Team Dim Sun admins exited from them.

"Kellyn, what now? There's so many of them!" Isaac said.

"We'll take them all on, we got Partner and Friend Pokémon with us!" I said as the admins started to type on their Miniremos.

Within seconds, we heard loud roaring as we saw two Aerodactyl and two Charizard come out of same panels that the admins came out of previously.

"Okay Pachirisu, you know what to do." I said as Pachirisu got into position.

"Same goes for you Buneary, get ready to fight." Luana said as I moved closer to her, while Buneary did the same with Pachirisu.

Since the room was large, we didn't need to worry about the admins attacking us, the Pokémon on the other hand were real problems because of their speed.

"Pachirisu, paralyze those Charizard!" I said.

"Buneary, use Hi Jump Kick on one of those Aerodactyl!" Luana said as our Pokémon jumped into action and attacked the admins' Pokémon before they could even type in a command.

One of the Aerodactyl got hit by Buneary's Hi Jump Kick and ended up being knocked back all the way to the back wall, while Pachirisu paralyzed both Charizard as we started drawing loops around the Pokémon.

"Buizel, use Bubblebeam on that Aerodactyl!" Keith shouted as Buizel shot bubbles at the Aerodactyl that wasn't attacked, sending it back towards the other Aerodactyl that was beginning to recover.

"Hey! What do you Rangers think you're doing?!" An admin said.

"We're stopping you guys, that's what we're doing." I said as Sven managed to capture one of the Charizard, while I aimed for the other one as Sven and Keith used Poké Assists on the Pokémon, while I had Pachirisu paralyze the Aerodactyl.

I continued to make loops around the Charizard, filling its friendship meter up quickly, though it managed to break free from paralysis as Pachirisu used one more Thunder Wave before he needed to rest. The Aerodactyl tried charging up a Hyper Beam, but thankfully, Vulpix, Espeon and Kirlia managed to attack it before it could harm us. I made sure my loops were quicker as the Charizard tried breaking free from paralysis, I glanced over at the Aerodactyl as Luana captured one of them, though the second one was attempting to charge up a Hyper Beam and I knew that Keith, Sven and Wendy were preoccupied with the Charizard and holding back some of the admins. I ran over to Luana and tackled her to the ground as the Aerodactyl missed her, though it managed to make a large dent in the wall.

"Kellyn, you saved me, thank you." Luana said as the Aerodactyl took a break from the energy it used.

"No problem, let's get this Aerodactyl!" I said as I drew loops around the tired Pokémon, completely filling up its friendship meter as it got captured, leaving us with the last Charizard which evaded the attacks from all the Pokémon as it charged up a Flamethrower.

"No! Don't use Flamethrower in here!" The admin shouted as the Charizard then used Flamethrower, melting parts of the wall as we all dodged it.

"Pachirisu, use Thunder Wave!" I said as Pachirisu got his energy back and stunned the Charizard as it ceased moving.

I ran over to the Charizard and drew loops around it, having Pachirisu continue to paralyze it whenever it was starting to break free from paralysis. Eventually, its friendship meter filled up as all four Pokémon were successfully captured, with the four of them heading through the openings they came out of as the admins started to back away while their Miniremos malfunctioned. All of the admins aside from the one we spotted earlier ran through the openings, which left us alone with the remaining admin, who continued to back away as well.

"Espeon, Kirlia, levitate that admin in the air!" I said as both Pokémon did so, while the admin struggled to break free despite being unable to do so.

"Ugh…what do you Rangers want now?" The admin asked.

"We need to know where the Yellow Gem is." Sven said.

"Why would I tell you that?" The admin asked.

"Because we'll have Espeon and Kirlia keep you levitated until you do." I said, hoping that the admin wouldn't know I was bluffing.

"No, we don't have to do that! The Yellow Gem is at the far end of this room, you'll need three keys to open the door but I don't know where the keys are or if it's being guarded!" The admin said.

"Are you sure about that?" I asked menacingly.

"I-I'm sure of it!" The admin said as had Espeon and Kirlia lower him down.

"Good, thanks for the help." I said as the admin nodded quickly and ran into the last opening as it closed back up.

"Wow, nice intimidation skills Kellyn, I wouldn't want to be that admin!" Sven said.

"Thanks, if we can find the Yellow Gem, then we can head out of here right away!" I said as we jogged to the end of the room, spotting a large steel door with three keyholes.

Keith took out the key I gave him and I retrieved the two keys I had. We then put the keys in the doorway and turned the keys, which made the door go into the floor as we saw a narrow hallway up ahead, along with a wide-open room at the very end.

"Oh boy, that looks like Heath in the center of that room, he's scary…" Keith said.

"I understand what you mean. We'll fight him just like with the other admins, and if he attempts to become confrontational, we'll do what we can to stop him from hurting you." Luana said as we made our way to the large room.

"Well, it looks like you guys are here, it's time for me to make the boss proud." Heath said with a smirk.

"That won't be happening! We're ready to fight you Heath, so prepare yourself!" I said as we got into position as Heath took out a Miniremo.

In a few seconds, we heard some growling quite a distance behind us, as we turned around, we saw an enraged Aggron make its way over to us, though we weren't going to allow it.

"Espeon, keep that Aggron paused so it can't attack!" I said as Espeon used Psychic energy to prevent Aggron from moving.

I made some loops around Aggron, checking its friendship meter and seeing that it had a rather high one. Considering that an Aggron's attacks could be dangerous in this area, we knew that we had to end this fight as soon as possible.

"Guys, once Espeon's Poké Assist ends, do whatever you can against this Aggron!" I said.

"You got it, we'll do what we can!" Sven said as I saw Heath trying to charge at me from my peripheral vision.

"Pachirisu, use Thunder Wave on Heath!" I said as Pachirisu did so.

"Grr, you Rangers aren't going to get that Pokémon captured." Heath said as I had Espeon continue to use Psychic energy on the Aggron while I continued making loops around it.

I checked Espeon's Poké Assist and saw that I had a few seconds more, so I had it use its Psychic energy before it had to be released.

"Thanks for the help Espeon, bye!" I said as I smiled at the Pokémon as it smiled back and teleported away.

"Kellyn, you look tired, I can take over for you!" Luana said as I switched positions with her as she continued to make loops around the Aggron before it broke free from the Psychic hold.

"Pachirisu, use Thunder Wave on that Aggron!" I said as Pachirisu unleashed Thunder Wave and managed to paralyze the Pokémon before it could attack.

However, within a few seconds, the Aggron quickly broke free from paralysis as it started to stomp the ground. We all managed to keep our balance despite this, and the Aggron started to charge up a Hyper Beam. I took a glance over at Buizel and Vulpix and had an idea.

"Keith, have Buizel use Bubblebeam and then we'll have Vulpix attack once it recovers!" I said.

"Huh? Good idea, Buizel, use Bubblebeam on Aggron!" Keith said as Buizel unleashed Bubblebeam, knocking the Aggron back as it became slower than before.

Luana went ahead and made loops around the Aggron as it was trying to attack us unsuccessfully. Since the Aggron was still sluggish, I used this as my opportunity to have Vulpix attack as well.

"Vulpix, use Flamethrower on that Aggron!" I said as Vulpix shot a powerful Flamethrower, scorching the Aggron as I glanced over and saw Heath still attempting to break free from paralysis.

"Don't worry Kellyn, we got him!" Sven said as he and Wendy went over to Heath.

"Thanks guys, Luana, I'll take over from here, you need to rest! It's time to capture this Aggron!" I said as I took over from Luana and made loops around the Aggron, with its friendship meter getting close to being completely full.

After a few more loops were made, the Aggron was captured, it soon walked away in confusion as Heath remained slightly paralyzed.

"You guys actually captured that Aggron..." Heath said.

"We certainly did, now where's the Yellow Gem?" I asked as Heath flinched.

"The Yellow Gem is being guarded by Kincaid, he's in the next room." Heath said.

"Good, thanks for giving us the information we need. We'll still need to search you just in case you're being untruthful." I said as Sven and Keith searched Heath's clothing.

After some grumbling from Heath and searching him for the Yellow Gem, we were able to find the Yellow Gem hidden in his coat pocket along with a key, both of which Sven held out for me to take as I put both of them in my jacket.

"What?! You guys can't do that!" Heath said.

"We certainly can, this key is identical to the other ones that were found here and I'm fairly certain this is going to be used for something. Plus, you actually did have the Yellow Gem the entire time. Thanks for the help Heath, we'll be on our way." I said as Pachirisu used Thunder Wave on him once more.

After Heath was paralyzed again, I turned to look at him, only for him to vanish. I shook my head in annoyance and we all ran towards the back of the room and discovered a door. I used the key we got from Heath and inserted it, turning it as the door opened, leading to a long hallway, though unlike the other ones which were made of solid steel, this hallway was made of reinforced glass on all sides. Noticing a door at the very end, we entered the hallway itself and ran all the way to the very end of it, observing the various Pokémon that were swimming by, such as Finneon and Staryu.

"Wow, this place is beautiful, this is some hideout!" Keith said as we looked at all the Pokémon.

"I agree, Kincaid had ideas to design this area so he can see all the Pokémon he wants to control. You guys can handle him!" Isaac said.

"That's right. Let's proceed cautiously, it's been quite a while since we've seen Kincaid, and there's no telling how dangerous he's going to be. Thankfully, our Pokémon are ready for him." I said as we opened the door and entered the room.

The room itself was circular in shape, with glass on the left-hand side along with a few filing cabinets and an escape hatch on the right. In the center was a large swivel chair, which was facing away from us, however, it quickly swung around, revealing Kincaid, who appeared surprised to see us.

"Kincaid…it's been quite a while. You're still not ready to admit defeat, are you?" I asked as Kincaid smiled.

"Hello Kellyn…it certainly has been some time. I'm not going to admit defeat anytime soon, but I will make sure to crush everyone in your group, starting with you." Kincaid said as he typed on a Miniremo.

Eventually we saw something dash across the room and I could feel it circling around us. It ended up stopping and I saw that it was a Gliscor, looking extremely angry.

"Gliscor huh? Let's go guys, we'll give it all that we've got! Pachirisu, start off with a Thunder Wave!" I said as Pachirisu let loose electricity, paralyzing the Pokémon effectively as I made loops around the Pokémon while I heard Kincaid becoming very angry.

"Raichu, if Kincaid tries anything, make sure to paralyze him as well!" Sven said as Raichu went up to Kincaid, terrifying him as the Pokémon sized him up.

"Buneary, once that paralysis wears off, use Charm on that Gliscor!" Luana said as I continued making loops around the Gliscor, bringing its friendship meter up to ten percent as it broke free of paralysis soon after.

Buneary soon used Charm and winking at the Gliscor, I used the opportunity to continue making loops around it since it simply followed Buneary, working similar to Attract and just as effectively. I eventually brought the Gliscor's friendship meter up to thirty percent, making note of my surroundings and seeing everyone posed for their chance to attack while Kincaid was grimacing at Raichu.

"Keith, once that Charm wears off, have Buizel use Bubblebeam. This thing is fast and dangerous, so letting it attack at all won't be good for us." I said as Keith nodded.

"Don't worry, we'll help as best as we can!" Keith said as I continued making loops around the Gliscor.

"Thanks guys. We'll bring Kincaid down soon, we just need to be careful." I said as Gliscor broke free of Charm.

Gliscor immediately flew around the room, evading Buizel's Bubblebeam as it spat out large puddles of mud as Luana slipped on one, afterwards, it attempted to tackle Luana as she tried regaining her footing, which made me remember when that Toxicroak nearly attacked me back in Pueltown.

"Pachirisu, use Thunder Wave on Gliscor, now!" I shouted as Pachirisu did so as I ran over to Luana.

I knew that the paralysis wouldn't last long, but it would stall the Pokémon long enough so I could reach Luana in time. Just as expected, the Gliscor shook off the paralysis but I was only a few inches from Luana as I tackled her as we both dove forward, as I positioned myself so that I would slide on the ground instead of her.

"Buizel, use Bubblebeam!" Keith shouted as Buizel landed a direct hit against the Gliscor, sending it sprawling to the wall as it nearly hit Kincaid.

I quickly helped Luana up and stood my ground, ready to protect Luana and everyone else once the Gliscor recovered. The Gliscor managed to start flying again and tried to shoot out a Dark Pulse, though Wendy ordered Vulpix to use Flamethrower on it, severely burning the Gliscor as it became heavily weakened.  
"Keith! Take over for me!" I shouted as Keith went over to the charred Gliscor that was resting on the ground and started to make loops around it.

"Good…good work Kellyn, I'll take over from here." Luana said.

"No Luana, please stay out of harm's way. That tackle could have seriously hurt you." I said.

"Alright Kellyn, if you insist, you know what to do!" Luana said as we went over to Pachirisu.

Keith made several loops around the Gliscor as it tried to fly once more, though it struggled to do so. I glanced over at Buizel and noticed how tired it was getting and I checked Pachirisu and was happy that he was ready to help while I wanted to save Kirlia for later in the fight, as Gliscor's friendship meter was now fifty percent. The Gliscor managed to move once more, though it was noticeably slower than before.

"Pachirisu, use Thunder Wave!" I said as Pachirisu paralyzed Gliscor again, making it unable to move at all.

"Go Keith, you got this!" Sven said as I looked over at Kincaid, who was enraged as Raichu continued staring at him.

Keith made a few dozen more loops and since he was getting tired, I took over for him as the Gliscor tried shaking free of paralysis, though I had Pachirisu paralyze the Pokémon once more as Keith took a break. I continued making loops around the Gliscor and saw that Pachirisu needed to rest, which was understandable considering all the work he's done since we reached here. I glanced over at Kirlia and had her teleport to me.

"Kirlia, make this Gliscor unable to move!" I said as Kirlia made Gliscor paused, which was a bit more effective than using Thunder Wave due to its Ground typing.

I continued to make more loops around the Gliscor as I heard Kincaid began to laugh manically.

"Hahah, Kellyn, do you really think you'll win against Gliscor? It's my Pokémon of choice for a reason." Kincaid taunted as I shot him a quick glare, which made the man flinch as I continued making loops around the Pokemon.

"This Gliscor might be fast, but considering that it's being controlled against its will, I'm not afraid of it and I know what it's capable of." I said.

"You almost got it Kellyn, it's friendship meter is at eighty percent!" Sven said.

I had Kirlia use her Psychic powers once more, preventing the Gliscor from moving as her Poké Assist finished, the Kirlia teleporting away after I thanked her for the help. The Gliscor quickly broke free from being paused, much quicker than before, which wasn't something I anticipated as it launched a Dark Pulse and pushed us backwards quite a bit. Undeterred, I moved around and continued to make loops around the Gliscor as I saw Luana recovering nearby, while Buneary was helping Pachirisu recover, then I had an idea.

"Buneary, use Jump Kick on Gliscor!" I said as Buneary sprang up and critically hit Gliscor which made it stop its Dark Pulse attack from continuing, though it launched some black disc like objects at me and I managed to dodge them.

I tirelessly made loops around the Gliscor, feeling pain rise up in my arm, though I wasn't sure why, I was mainly focused on capturing this Pokémon so it can regain its senses once more. After several more loops, the Gliscor was captured as my knees buckled, the Pokémon was confused as to where it was, and exited through a hole in the ceiling which we hadn't noticed previously.

"Hah, you haven't seen the last of me!" Kincaid said as he tried kicking Raichu, though the Pokémon managed to paralyze him before he could do so.

"W-we're bringing you in…Kincaid." I said as I struggled to stand until Luana brought me to my feet.

"Kellyn, your arm is bleeding! We have to bring Kincaid in and get you medical attention right away!" Luana said as I quickly glanced at my arm, noticing a large cut going the length of my entire arm that was made from one of the black discs.

"Good idea…let's…let's get Kincaid now." I said as I winced in pain while Sven, Wendy and Keith came over to us, their eyes wide when they saw my wound.

"We'll deal with Kincaid, we got some spare zip ties so he can't escape. Your wound is serious, you just relax." Sven said as they tied Kincaid up.

"No, that's okay, I'll help you guys." I said as pain surged through my arm.

"Kellyn, you're hurt and there's still four of us. Please let us help you." Luana said as she looked into my eyes.

"Okay…if you insist. We'll take Kincaid to the teleportation room…wait…where's Isaac? He was with us when we came down here. Isaac? Are you hurt? Where are you?" I said as Isaac peeked out from a filing cabinet.

"Sorry for making you worry Kellyn, I decided to hide so I wouldn't be in the way or get hurt." Isaac said as Kincaid grimaced.

"Isaac…you betrayed me, how could you? I gave you a lab, let you design whatever you wanted for our workers…and you do this?!" Kincaid shouted before I placed a cloth over his mouth.

"Actually…you betrayed not just me, Kincaid, but the entire region of Almia by doing this. You tricked me into thinking I was helping Almia, but I was actually a factor in Team Dim Sun becoming powerful. If it wasn't for Kellyn and everyone else being here, I would have probably never realized it, or understood it too late." Isaac said as we made our way to the elevator.

"Well said Isaac. Kellyn will teleport you and Kincaid to the Ranger Union, and the rest of us can head back to the Ranger Union." Sven said as we entered the elevator.

"Actually, how about Isaac flies back with Keith, Sven and Wendy? Luana and I can go along with Kincaid back to the Ranger Union by having a Pokémon teleport us back." I said.

"That's a great idea, let's go!" Luana said as she got a cloth from Wendy.

Luana then wrapped it around my arm, tying it tightly as we reached the teleportation room. As we entered the teleportation room, we saw the Kadabra from earlier and Luana quickly captured it as she dodged its Psybeam.

"Great, now we can bring Kincaid in! Kadabra, can you please teleport Kincaid, Kellyn and I to the Ranger Union's lobby?" Luana asked as she grabbed Kincaid.

Kadabra nodded and after a few seconds, hit us with some gentle Psychic energy as we were instantly teleported to the Ranger Union's lobby. As I looked around, I saw Murph a bit stunned by our appearance as Pachirisu hopped up and down.

"Hi guys, I take it that scary guy that's with you is Kincaid?" Murph asked.

"He certainly is, everyone else is coming back via Staraptor. I'll need to see Dr. Rhythmi if he's available, I got injured pretty badly by a Gliscor." I said.

"I understand, I'll take Kincaid up to the interrogation room where some Rangers are going to question him. What matters is that all of you are safe." Murph said as we smiled.

"Thank you, we appreciate your concern, we'll be going to the medical room now. Thanks again!" Luana said as Murph went upstairs with Kincaid, after they went upstairs, we also did the same and headed into the medical room.

"I hope I'll recover soon. I wanted to thank you Luana, you've always being there for me, I'll make sure to show my appreciation once I'm all patched up. Is there anything I can do to help you out in the meantime?" I said as I slowly sat down on the bed.

"It's no trouble at all Kellyn, I'll always be by your side. The only thing you can do to help me out is to make sure you get some rest. I don't want you to do any Ranger work while you're injured." Luana said.

"If that makes you happy, then I'll do it." I said as I grinned at Luana, while she did the same.

"Good, I'll be right here the whole time. I really hope Dr. Rhythmi shows up soon, I'm always very concerned about you but this cut…it worries me." Luana said as the door opened and Dr. Rhythmi walked in.

"Hello Kellyn, hello Luana! Kellyn, I was informed of the wound you received and I have something that can help you instantaneously." Dr. Rhythmi said with a smile.

"Really?! Is it a Pokémon?" I asked as Dr. Rhythmi chuckled.

"You're correct! Come on in Blissey!" Dr. Rhythmi said as Blissey hopped into the room, a big smile on its face as it stood in front of me and examined my wound.

"What an adorable Pokémon, Blissey can heal people with the eggs in their pouches, that's just what Kellyn needs!" Luana said as Blissey hopped up and down.

Blissey took out an egg from its pouch as Dr. Rhythmi got a plate and cracked it open, the egg filled up the entire plate and I hovered my hand over it to make sure it wasn't too hot, though I was surprised at how it was so warm. I quickly ate the egg and felt extremely calm as I closed my eyes before opening them once more and breathed a sigh of relief. I glanced over at my arm and saw the wound disappearing eventually vanishing completely. I touched where the cut was and grinned, it's as if it wasn't ever there at all. I looked over at the Blissey as it happily hopped up and down, and I patted its head with gratitude as I gave it a hug. I turned to Luana and saw that she was on the verge of tears as she hugged me tightly.

"Kellyn…I'm so glad that you're okay! Thanks Blissey and Dr. Rhythmi!" Luana said as Blissey smiled and did a little twirl.

"As you can tell, Blissey is delighted to help. You're all good to go Kellyn, I'm glad that we have this Blissey to our team now." Dr. Rhythmi said.

"I'm certainly glad as well, thank you so much, we both really appreciate it!" I said as I patted the Blissey once again and shook Dr. Rhythmi's hand.

Luana and I left the room and then headed to the Operator's Room where Chairperson Erma was waiting, as we approached her, I took out the three Gems as Chairperson Erma smiled.

"Dearies, wonderful work! I was informed that Sven, Wendy and Keith are on their way back and that you managed to capture Kincaid!" Chairperson Erma said as I handed her the gems.

"Thank you, everyone did an amazing job, I'm glad that we brought the three Gems back. We also managed to rescue a friend of ours, Isaac, who was tricked by Kincaid into making the Miniremo units. He'll be coming back with everyone else." I said.

"That's amazing that you helped save your friend, perhaps he knows detailed information about Team Dim Sun that most of them wouldn't know. But we can save that for later today, you two must be exhausted, it's 1:39 A.M. after all!" Chairperson Erma said.

"It's that time already?! Wow…we were thinking of getting some rest, but I would rather wait until everyone gets back safely, it'll only take them about forty minutes or so!" I said.

"I understand what you mean, all of you did some impeccable work today! I'll go ahead and call Sven and the others to see how they're doing. I know that you two aren't going to sleep now, but I hope you two have a good rest!" Chairperson Erma said.

"Thank you Chairperson Erma, we'll be heading to our bedroom. We hope you have a great rest as well!" Luana said as we headed downstairs.

Luana and I entered our bedroom and took off our shoes and changed into our pajamas as I removed the device and the keycard from my pocket and did the same with Luana's as I put the keycards and device on top of the dryer. Afterwards, I put our uniforms in the washer and turned the machine on as Pachirisu fell asleep on the floor. I picked Pachirisu up and put him down on the loveseat, while I sat down as Luana joined me. I tried my best to stay awake, but I ended up yawning, which made Luana giggle.

"You know, you can sleep if you're tired. Everyone will understand, they know that all of us worked hard to get the gems back from Team Dim Sun's facility!" Luana said with a smile.

"Are you sure? I'll go ahead and take a quick nap then; can you please wake me up at the usual time?" I asked.

"Of course I will, let me get you a blanket and a few pillows." Luana said as she got the blanket and pillows from the bed and handed them to me as I made myself comfy.

Luana then joined me on the loveseat as I snuggled next to her while she did the same.

"I like this, I feel so relaxed. Good night Luana, I love you so much." I said as I kissed Luana's cheek.

"Good, stay nice and warm here, it's just as comfy as the bed. Good night Kellyn, I love you a lot." Luana said as she kissed me back as I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

A few hours later, Luana gently shook me awake and I smiled at her, rubbing my eyes as I stretched and checked my Styler, seeing that it was 9:42 A.M..

"Good morning Kellyn! Did you have a good rest? I certainly did, I had such a great dream." Luana said as I moved the blanket, seeing that Pachirisu was nowhere to be found.

"I did sleep good, I really loved how you were snuggled so close to me. I'm curious, what was your dream about?" I asked as Luana blushed.

"My dream involved you and me getting married! It was so amazing, it really made me happy." Luana said.

"Oh wow, that's so adorable, it sounds like you had a wonderful dream! Are you ready to go do some Ranger work today? It seems like Pachirisu is, he's not on the loveseat where I put him last night!" I said.

"I'm excited to do some work today, Pachirisu is probably in the lobby. Everyone else has been back for some time and they're most likely still asleep. I'll go ahead and get ready!" Luana said as she got up and went to the bathroom.

"Hmm, let's see, I know that the clothes are still in the washer, so let me put the uniforms in the dryer and then look around for some spares." I said as I opened the washer and saw that it was empty.

I was slightly perplexed at first, but then I opened the dryer and saw that our uniforms were there, so I took Luana's uniform out and put it on a hanger, while I did the same with mine as I heard Luana exiting the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her.

"Luana, thank you for drying the uniforms, that was so sweet of you! I was just about to go looking for spare uniforms that we could use for today. You're such a great girlfriend!" I said as Luana grinned.

"Aww, it's no problem at all Kellyn! After all, with everything we did at that facility, making sure that our clothes were clean was the least I could do, especially for such a wonderful boyfriend like yourself! I made sure to move the clothes to the dryer as quietly as possible since I know you're a bit of a light sleeper, I would have felt bad if I woke you up by mistake. Thanks for putting my clothes on the hanger so they wouldn't fall out of my hands!" Luana said as she winked at me and took her uniform off the hanger, getting dressed quickly.

"Well I really appreciate that you're so caring, let me go and get ready, I won't take too long!" I said as I took my uniform and ran into the bathroom.

After fifteen minutes or so, I got myself ready and put my uniform on, exiting the bathroom and I went ahead and put the device and keycards in my pocket as Luana looked at me with a smile on her face.

"That was fast! Ready to go?" Luana asked.

"I definitely am, let's see how Sven and Wendy are doing!" I said as we left the bedroom and walked over to their bedroom, squeezing their Eevee toy.

After we waited for a few minutes and heard no movements or rummaging, we decided to head to the lobby as I spotted Pachirisu, who came up to us as I gave him a hug.

"Aw, good morning Pachirisu, nice to see you!" Luana said.

"Good, he looks happy like usual, let me just go ahead and take him to the other Partner Pokémon so he can relax!" I said as I went to the Pokémon Training Room, noticing that Ben and Betty were asleep at the counter.

I gently helped Pachirisu in as I waved goodbye to him, while he did the same as he went over to the other Partner Pokémon, which were all asleep. I smiled and closed the door, heading back to the lobby where Luana was patiently waiting for me.


	47. Chapter 47: Problems at the Ranger Union

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!**

Chapter 47: Problems at the Ranger Union

"Hi Kellyn, are you ready to head upstairs and see if there's anything Chairperson Erma needs?" Luana asked.

"Sure, let's go ahead and see what needs to be done!" I said as we went upstairs to the third floor, seeing that Chairperson Erma wasn't there, though Rhythmi was busy on the monitors, whereas Linda and Marcus weren't anywhere to be seen.

"Hmm, let's look upstairs, perhaps Chairperson Erma is at the Tree of Harmony." Luana said.

We headed up to the Tree of Harmony and found that Chairperson Erma was nowhere to be found, thinking that she's probably doing other things around the facility, we decided to head back down to the Operator's Room once more and saw Linda coming out of the sleeping quarters while I saw Marcus coming from the escalator.

"Hello guys, good morning! How are you all doing?" I asked as everyone turned around and waved.

"Hi Kellyn, hi Luana, good morning to you too! We're doing rather well." Marcus said.

"Glad to hear that, we were wondering if any of you have spotted Chairperson Erma this morning. We figured she's just helping out Top Mechanics or other employees around the Ranger Union and that's why we haven't seen her yet." I said.

"Actually, I saw Chairperson Erma in the cafeteria drinking some tea with some toast she was having only a few minutes ago." Linda said.

"Yup, she's probably still there eating, maybe you guys can check up on her, she seems extra happy! It could be because of how the three gems are back." Rhythmi said.

"That's a good point, thanks guys, we'll head over there right now!" Luana said as we went downstairs and entered the cafeteria, finding Chairperson Erma at a table enjoying her breakfast as she spotted us and smiled.

"Hello dearies, good morning! I hope you two caught up on your sleep!" Chairperson Erma said.

"Good morning, we certainly did! We were actually looking for you, we were wondering where you were since you weren't in your usual places." I said as we both sat down.

"Oh my apologies! I went ahead and gave Professor Hastings the three gems, we also questioned Isaac and those two researchers, Jeff and Ronald, and found that they weren't involved in Team Dim Sun's nefarious activities, so we had the two of them stay here for a little bit where they're going to be resting for a few days before heading back to Haruba Village. Isaac wanted to work here and of course, we happily obliged. He's in the lab right now where he's getting some rest." Chairperson Erma said.

"Wow, that's wonderful! Ah, before I forget, do you happen to need these keycards for anything? They were at Team Dim Sun's research facility and we used them a few times, otherwise we'd be unable to get the gems at all." I said as I took out the two keycards, handing them to Chairperson Erma while I took out the device.

"Thank you, I'll make sure to hold on to them for safekeeping since it can show anyone who's interested in working for Team Dim Sun about the manipulation they're willing to do such as with Isaac, Ronald and Jeff. It's very likely that they've done so with the other workers and the Team Dim Sun grunts. Also, everyone who went with you guys are still extremely tired, so they're going to be catching up on their sleep! You two are free to do whatever you would like as usual!" Chairperson Erma said.

"That's a great idea Chairperson Erma! Kellyn and I are going to Vientown for a bit, we'll be checking up on the Ranger base to see how everyone is, and then we'll be doing some quests!" Luana said.

"Wonderful, let any of us know if you guys need anything!" Chairperson Erma said.

"We will, thank you!" I said as we headed out of the Ranger Union.

Luana and I walked down Union Road, heading towards Pueltown and then walking through Vien Forest, reaching Vientown after several minutes of walking. As we reached Vientown, I checked my Styler, wondering what quests would be available so we could do them after saying hello to everyone.

"We're here! After we see how Barlow and everyone is doing, we can do some quests that are nearby!" Luana said.

"Good idea, it'll be nice to see everyone. I know that Barlow will be really happy!" I said as we entered the Ranger Base, seeing Elaine and Ollie working on Jen's Styler Recharger.

"Kellyn and Luana, it's nice to see you guys! How have you two been?" Elaine asked.

"Hello Elaine, hi Ollie! It's good to see the both of you. We've been doing well, we had a dangerous mission to do involving Team Dim Sun, but we completed it!" Luana said.

"Yeah, there were Team Dim Sun grunts everywhere! By the way, where's Crawford, Jen and Barlow? Are they doing okay?" I asked.

"They're fine, everyone's just doing their own things out by Nabiki Beach and the Ranger School. They'll be back in a bit though! Would you like to see what Ollie and I are working on?" Elaine asked.

"Sure, we wanted to see how you guys were doing to begin with. We'll be more than happy to see what project you guys are working on at the moment!" Luana said as Elaine and Ollie grinned and showed us the various parts of the Styler Recharger.

"So this part here is the power board and this small board next to it is what feeds electricity to the Styler itself." Ollie explained.

"Wow, that's really cool, I always loved seeing how machines work! What's wrong with the Styler Recharger though?" I asked as I examined all of the various components.

"Nothing's wrong with it, we just wanted to take it apart and we've already gotten pretty far since we can see the main components, now we just need to put it back together!" Elaine said.

"That sounds like fun, would you like us to help you reassemble it?" Luana asked.

"Sure, that'll be very helpful, thanks!" Ollie said as we helped Elaine and Ollie put the Styler Recharger back together.

"Whew, all done, thanks guys!" Elaine said as the Ranger Base doors opened.

_'__That was quick work, good thing too, Jen probably wouldn't have liked it if the Styler Recharger was open like that.' _I thought to myself as Jen, Crawford and Barlow entered.

"Hi Kellyn, hi Luana! It's great to see you guys!" Barlow said as we gave him a hug, followed by Jen and Crawford.

"Yup, it's us! We're happy to see you guys, we figured that we would stop by and see how you're all doing!" I said.

"Well we're glad you did! We were excited when we heard about the amazing work all of you did at that research facility. It must have been a dangerous mission, but you guys managed to get those Gems back!" Barlow said.

"I knew you guys could do it, those Team Dim Sun grunts didn't know what hit them!" Crawford said.

"I agree, the group of you were really super, we weren't informed of anything in specific details, did you guys face anything particularly dangerous?" Jen asked.

"Haha, thanks guys, we would have been stuck if it wasn't for the teamwork of everyone, including our Pokémon of course! As for anyone dangerous, we did face the Sinis Trio and a team of admins and those fights were…interesting." I said.

"You guys are seriously amazing, going to that facility as a group and storming it, taking down Kincaid and recovering the gems must have been exhausting, but very rewarding!" Barlow said.

"It really was. I felt like at any corner, we would come into danger or a trap, but we managed to get the gems safely and exit the facility. Everyone else that was with us was tired, so they're getting some well-deserved rest." Luana said.

"Wow, that place sounds pretty scary! Great work you guys!" Jen said.

"Yeah, since you guys did so well, how about we make you guys some lunch?" Crawford asked.

"That would be nice, but are you sure? We wouldn't want to be an inconvenience to any of you!" I said.

"It's no trouble at all, you've all done so much for Almia so this is our way of showing our appreciation! We'll just be a few minutes." Barlow said as he, Jen and Crawford went into the kitchen.

"Since they're making lunch, what's been up with you guys aside from that dangerous mission? Anything else that's been exciting?" Ollie asked as Luana and I snickered, remembering the prank Keith and Rhythmi pulled on everyone.

"Oh man…you guys should have been there. You guys know Keith and Rhythmi, right?" Luana asked.

"We do, they're pretty nice, but not as nice as you guys!" Elaine said.

"Hahah, thanks guys! So the other day, before we went to Team Dim Sun's research facility, Keith and Rhythmi pranked most, if not everyone in the Ranger Union. It was interesting to say the least, most of our other friends were covered with googly eyes and flour, while one of them had Gastrodon slime all over him. When we went to the Operator's Room…it was a mess, googly eyes were everywhere, on the floor, ceiling and the equipment. Even Chairperson Erma got googly eyes and yellow paint over her, but she took it in good stride." I said as Ollie and Elaine chuckled.

"Googly eyes? No way…" Elaine said as Barlow, Jen and Crawford came back out with a large pot and a smaller one, taking it to the table where there were seven chairs as Crawford took out plates and utensils.

"Yes Elaine, googly eyes were everywhere. How about we all head on over to the table and tell everyone else about the pranks that took place once we're done eating?" Luana asked as Elaine and Ollie happily nodded and went over to the table, sitting down as Barlow grinned.

"Sorry we took so long; we made some delicious stew for you guys!" Barlow said.

"Thanks guys, you didn't take long at all, we appreciate the food!" I said as Barlow took the covers off, revealing a delicious potato and carrot stew with the smaller pot containing rice.

All of us took out our portion of food, which emptied both pots rather quickly as Jen took the dishes and pots away and came back a few seconds later.

"Wow, that food was awesome, thanks once again guys!" I said.

"I agree, the food was very delicious!" Luana said.

"You're welcome, we're happy we could do something for you guys!" Barlow said.

"We overheard you guys mentioning pranks that happened at the Ranger Union, tell us about them!" Jen said.

"Sure! This happened recently, but Keith and Rhythmi pranked the Ranger Union, putting googly eyes and flour on most of the people there, they also managed to prank Chairperson Erma with paint and googly eyes, even the Operator's Room was a mess! However, what was the best detail was something we shared for last, which was us pranking them back. Luana got the idea of using the armchairs in the lobby and removing the cushions, we then sat down on where the cushions once were and placed them over us while we had our friend, Betty put a sheet on top of us so we would blend in. After a few moments, Keith and Rhythmi came down to the lobby, and were convinced by Betty to sit down. Let's just say that after we grabbed them, they both knew that we managed to scare them pretty good. It was pretty fun pranking them back, Chairperson Erma also asked them to clean up the mess once they were done, but they didn't get in trouble, which was understandable and we all helped out as well." I said as everyone was laughing.

"Hahah! That's hilarious! It's a good thing we weren't there, that prank of yours sounds like fun…but everything else sounded like an absolute mess at the same time!" Jen said as she giggled.

"Yeah, it really was hectic, we're glad that everything's back to normal." Luana said.

"I hope that means you guys aren't going to be doing such stressful work for some time! You guys deserve a break!" Barlow said.

"Thank you, I think that we all deserve a nice break. However, there's something I don't get…what if Kincaid isn't the Team Dim Sun's boss? What sort of boss doesn't have extra security to protect him, or just prevent us from entering the room he's in?" I asked as everyone aside from Luana appeared shocked.

"I've been thinking that as well, why didn't Kincaid have any additional ways to escape? The room we fought him in had an escape hatch, but I was surprised he didn't have a Pokémon to just teleport him close to it or away from the facility after we captured his Gliscor." Luana said.

"But…if Kincaid wasn't the boss, then who is?" Barlow asked.

"We…we don't know, but Luana and I feel like it isn't Kincaid, only because the entire thing seems so off. Why wouldn't he escape when he had the chance? He could have taunted us and then escape easily considering his Gliscor's speed. What if he only made it appear as if he was apprehended and the Kincaid in the Ranger Union is actually a double to take the blame while the real one continues trying to take control of Almia's Pokémon?" I asked.

"K-Kellyn, that isn't funny! What if you're right?!" Crawford said.

"Sorry Crawford, I just think the whole thing is strange…Ice, Leilani and Heath all teleported away before we could apprehend them…but not Kincaid." I said.

"Hmmm, that is rather peculiar…perhaps the Rangers who are interrogating him might be able to extract some information out of him." Barlow said.

"I think that they'll be able to do so, we'll let you guys know if anything else comes up. Aside from that though, is there anything that you guys would like for us to do before we go?" Luana asked.

"Well…the sleeping quarters need to be cleaned…" Crawford said.

"What?! No they don't!" I said as everyone chuckled.

"Aw man, yeah, they're pretty clean, but I almost had you for a moment there, didn't I?" Crawford asked.

"You almost did, I would have thought you would say that the kitchen or bathroom needs to be cleaned or something, but the sleeping quarters?" I said as Crawford snickered.

"Oooh, maybe next time they will!" Crawford said.

"Oh boy…don't get any funny ideas Crawford! Seriously though, we don't need anything done at the base, but we really appreciate your generosity, it means a lot to us." Barlow said with a smile.

"It's not a problem at all, we're glad we could spend some time with you guys! We'll be heading out now, but thanks for having us!" I said as Luana and I got up.

"Not a problem, you guys can come here anytime you'd like! It was great to see you two!" Barlow said as we gave everyone a hug and said our goodbyes, heading out of the Ranger Base.

"That was fun, it's always good to see everyone and see how they're doing!" Luana said as I hugged her tightly and kissed her briefly on the lips.

"I agree, I enjoyed that, it was relaxing compared to being at that research facility. Do you want to go do some quests?" I asked.

"Sure, it'll be nice to do something that doesn't involve Team Dim Sun for a change!" Luana said.

"I know exactly what you mean, let's see what's available for us." I said as I checked my Styler.

Looking through the quests we completed, I saw that four more were open to us, two of them were in Haruba Village while the other two were in Pueltown. The quest information seemed to be simple enough as I skimmed over it, so I poked Luana in the shoulder as she turned around to face me with a grin on her face.

"Hi! Did you see any quests we could do?" Luana asked.

"I did! There are four quests for us, two in Haruba Village and two in Pueltown. The quests in Pueltown both involve us locating missing Pokémon, but there isn't any information on the quests for Haruba Village, at least not at the moment. Do you want to head over to Pueltown?" I asked.

"You bet I do, let's go quickly and then we can head over to Haruba Village!" Luana said as we jogged back over to Pueltown, stopping in Vien Forest and admiring the scenery.

"Here looks beautiful as always, I'm glad that even the scorched grass is growing back now! I was thinking, maybe when we're done with the quests, we can spend some time with your family?" I asked as Luana put her arm around me, lovingly pulling me close.

"I'd love that, they'll be so happy to see us again!" Luana said as I kissed her on the lips with the both of us reaching Pueltown a short time later.

Afterwards, Luana gently took her arm off of my shoulder while we both checked my Styler wondering where the clients would be located.

"Okay Luana, it says here that the client is Melody, Isaac's sister! She'll be by Isaac's house; she's going to explain the quest once we reach there. I don't know where Isaac's home is, he and I talked quite a bit in Ranger School but we stayed in those dorms…maybe we can give Keith a call, he'd always go and pay Melody and Isaac's parents a visit since Isaac wasn't able to." I said.

"Good idea! I hope Keith is awake by now!" Luana said as I chuckled while I went ahead and called Keith, who picked up after a few rings.

"Hi Kellyn, hi Luana! How are you guys?" Keith asked.

"We're good Keith, hope we didn't bother you. We have a quest to do and neither of us know where Isaac's house would be." I said.

"You guys didn't disturb me, you two can call anytime! Isaac's house is with a couple of other homes, his house has a dark green roof and is surrounded by flowers. It's across from Pueltown's marketplace!" Keith said.

"Thank you Keith, we appreciate it! Bye!" I said.

"No problem Kellyn, I'll be heading back to bed, bye for now!" Keith said as I hanged up.

"Awesome, let's go find Isaac's place!" I said as we both found Isaac's home after walking for a few minutes, in front of the house watering a cluster of roses was Melody, who happily looked up at us when we approached her.

"Hello! You two are part of the team that rescued Isaac, you guys are Kellyn and Luana, right?" Melody asked.

"We certainly are, it's nice to meet you, Melody!" Luana said as she shook Melody's hand while I did the same.

"It's a pleasure! Thank you so much for saving Isaac, I was working on the construction of Pueltown's new hospital today and I heard that five amazing Top Rangers saved Isaac. I asked for the day off as I made sure he was okay and then I came home to see my folks and our Vaporeon, who joined me outside. When I was watering the roses and took a break, Vaporeon was gone!" Melody said.

"Oh no! Don't worry Melody, we'll help find your Vaporeon! Is there anywhere that it likes to go specifically?" I asked.

"Yes! He likes to explore the various flower fields and water all of the flowers and Pokémon as well. However, I don't know exactly which one he might be at right now! He's very playful as well, so it won't be too long until you guys find him!" Melody said.

"No need to worry, you can count on us!" Luana said as we waved to Melody and started to search the flower fields around Pueltown, finding only tulips and roses along with some Bellossom.

"Alright, where can this Vaporeon be? It's a good thing he's not green like some of the other Pokémon here, at least it won't be too difficult trying to find him." I said.

"That's true, we'll find Vaporeon soon enough!" Luana said as I heard the sounds of water and turned my head, seeing a Vaporeon using a weak Water Gun on some of the lilacs and other nearby flowers.

"There it is, let's approach it." I said as we walked up to the Vaporeon, who instantly looked up at us and walked in our direction as he nuzzled against my leg.

"Aww, such an adorable Pokémon! Vaporeon, Melody is waiting for you, would you like us to take you to her?" Luana asked as Vaporeon nodded his head.

Luana and I took Vaporeon to Melody, who was pacing back and forth in front of the house. Vaporeon quickly ran up to Melody who gave him a hug as she smiled in delight.

"Kellyn, Luana, thank you for much for finding Vaporeon! Where have you been, boy? I was so worried about you!" Melody said.

"He was simply watering some flowers, don't you worry, he wasn't causing any mischief!" I said as Melody smiled.

"Oh Vaporeon, you're such a sweetheart, let's head back inside for now. Kellyn, Luana, please come in for a moment, I'd like to thank the two of you for finding Vaporeon so quickly, plus, I believe that my parents wanted some assistance from the both of you as well." Melody said as we all headed inside the house, where Isaac and Melody's parents were sitting down on a few chairs, as we took off our shoes and approached them, they both got up and shook our hands, gesturing for the both of us to sit them.

"Hello there Kellyn and Luana. We've heard a lot of things about you two! We'd like your help in locating some Pokémon for our son." Melody's mom said.

"Sure thing, what Pokémon would you like for us to get?" I asked.

"We would like for the both of you to find a Chingling, a Chatot and two Bellossom for Isaac. He's been a bit disheartened after finding out what Kincaid actually had him do for Team Dim Sun. The Pokémon will certainly cheer him up. Can you two please help us out?" Melody's dad asked.

"Not a problem, we'll be more than happy to help!" I said.

"That's right! We'll be back before you know it!" Luana said.

"Thank you both very much, we appreciate your help!" Melody said as we said goodbye, put our shoes back on and headed outside.

"Okay Luana, from what I know, the only place that has Chingling is that one area in Crysta Cave. Let's go ahead and get the Chingling first since it would take the longest to reach. Let's get a Staraptor for us!" I said.

"Good idea, I remember hearing it when we were there the first time. Let's go and capture it!" Luana said as we noticed a Staraptor nearby a flower field, which Luana quickly captured as we both hopped on it.

"Nice work! Staraptor, take us to Crysta Cave and head inside of it!" I said as Staraptor nodded and flew towards Crysta Cave.

After a few minutes, Staraptor arrived at Crysta Cave and flew inside, landing on the pier as we both hopped off of it.

"Thanks Staraptor, we'll be a few minutes, please wait for us until we return." Luana said as we headed towards the right hand side, going down a pathway that had a small cave at the very end.

When we entered the cave, we saw a Chingling who immediately hopped away from us as I quickly made loops around it, worried it would teleport away if I wasn't fast. Thankfully, the Chingling was captured after only five loops as it registered in our Browser, with Luana giving me a high five as Chingling teleported to us.

"Great! Now that we got the Chingling, let's head back to Staraptor and get the Chatot and Bellossom!" I said as Luana nodded as we went to Staraptor and got on it once more, with Chingling sitting on my shoulder.

"Thanks for waiting Staraptor, please take us to Pueltown!" Luana said as Staraptor flew off.

Within minutes, Luana and I reached Pueltown and landed right in front of the Ranger Depot as we looked around for any flower patches, though we didn't see any in this part of town.

"Thank you for the help Staraptor, we appreciate it!" I said as Staraptor nodded and gracefully flew off.

"Now that we're here, let's go and get those Bellossom!" Luana said as we both jogged around Pueltown with Chingling happily sitting on my shoulder.

Luana and I eventually spotted a flower patch and noticed a Bellossom dancing around the flowers. Luana made some loops around the Pokémon and captured it before it got a chance to attack. Afterwards, the Bellossom walked over to us while we quickly searched for another Bellossom, finding none. The two of us then saw a Chatot flying about and I approached it, though the Chatot attacked with Uproar.

"Woah, I need to capture this Chatot quickly!" I said as I made loops around Chatot, avoiding its uproar for a few seconds as I caught it.

"Nice job Kellyn, now we just need one more Bellossom!" Luana said as we continued looking through flower fields, finding a few Sunkern and some Cherrim.

Eventually, we came across a flower field that had a number of blue and pink tulips along with a small water fountain and dancing around the blue tulips was a Bellossom. When the Bellossom noticed us, it sent out a protective barrier of leaves, though I made loops around the Bellossom and its barrier, managing to capture it with little effort. After we caught all four Pokémon, we headed back to Melody's parents and knocked on the door before entering.

"Hello, we're here with the Pokémon you guys needed. May we come in?" I asked as the door opened, revealing Melody's mom.

"Of course, please come in, thank you so much for finding all of the Pokémon!" Melody's mom said as we entered the house, taking off our shoes as we gently put the Pokémon on the ground, observing that Melody and her father were there as well.

"Wow, you guys are incredible! Amazing work!" Melody said.

"Yeah, the two of them are a great duo! Isaac should be home any minute now." Melody's father said.

"Good, Isaac will be happy to see you guys, he'll be thrilled to know that you guys are doing something like this for him!" I said.

"He certainly will, this will be just what he needs to cheer him up. Are the two of you going to be preoccupied by the way?" Melody asked.

"We did have two other quests to complete, but we can help all of you out if you guys would like!" Luana said.

"Great! The last part of this quest is to wait for Isaac to come home in the next few minutes or so. He'd be so happy to see some of his favorite Pokémon, plus he'll be glad to know you guys did the quest for him!" Melody said.

"Sure, we can stay! It'll be nice to see the joy on Isaac's face!" I said as Isaac entered the house and greeted everyone.

"Hi everyone, I got back from the Ranger Union after taking a long nap. Hello Kellyn, hi Luana! It's good to see you guys, I feel bad that I never got to thank you two properly for saving me from that horrid facility, but I am no longer blaming myself for helping with those Miniremos to be designed and produced." Isaac said.

"Hello Isaac, nice to see you too! There's no need to thank us, we were just helping you out, anyone would have done that! I'm glad that you're not feeling bad about those Miniremos, after all, Kincaid tricked you." I said as Isaac smiled and sat down.

"Thank you Kellyn, I needed that. Woah…Bellossom, Chatot and Chingling!" Isaac said.

"Hahah, yup, we wanted to surprise you with some of your favorite Pokémon, Kellyn and Luana captured them with ease. Pokémon, please do what you do best!" Melody's mom said.

The Bellossom started to dance, while the Chatot and Chingling did some lovely humming as they hopped around, Isaac's face lighting up into a big grin, which made us smile as well. The Pokémon all danced for a few minutes before they all bowed and all of us clapped for their performance as they gracefully left the house.

"That was amazing! That was just what I needed to feel cheered up, thank you everyone!" Isaac said.

"It's no problem, we're all glad that you're back to your usual self now!" Melody said as both me and Luana's Stylers started to ring.

"That's never happened before…it's Marcus calling. Let me answer it, sorry everyone, give me a moment." I said as I answered.

"Hi Kellyn, hello Luana! How are you two doing with the Pueltown quests?" Marcus asked as everyone in the room exchanged looks.

"Kellyn and Luana just finished the Pueltown quests." Melody said.

"Don't Top Operators get a notification about that stuff?" Melody's dad whispered to us as we nodded, thinking the whole situation was odd.

"They did? Wonderful! The entire system has been really slow today, sorry about that Kellyn and Luana! I'll send your Power Up data right away, good work! Bye!" Marcus said.

"That's okay Marcus, bye for now!" I said as I hanged up.

"Okay…that was strange. We've never gotten Voicemails from Marcus simultaneously; something seems very odd." Luana said.

"I agree, we should head back to the Ranger Union." I said.

"Be safe when you guys reach there, hopefully it's nothing!" Isaac said.

"We will, have fun with your family!" I said as we waved goodbye to everyone.

Luana and I went to the door and put our shoes back on, heading outside and closing the door back, running to the Ranger Union, feeling that Marcus calling us simultaneously was extremely suspicious.

"Kellyn, I think that talking with Marcus is a good idea. All we have to do is just clarify if him calling the both of us was just a simple error. The whole thing seems so unusual to me." Luana said.

"Thank you for having my side, Luana. Let's go see how Marcus is." I said as we approached the Ranger Union.

Luana and I headed inside and quickly went upstairs to the Operator's Room, where we saw Marcus as his usual spot while Linda, Rhythmi and Chairperson Erma weren't anywhere to be found. Marcus turned around upon hearing us, his eyebrows arched up slightly.


	48. Chapter 48: Ranger Union Complications

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!**

Chapter 48: Ranger Union Complications

"Kellyn? Luana? Hi guys, how are the two of you doing?" Marcus asked.

"We're good, we just wanted to make sure you were alright since you called both of us earlier. It's never happened before, so we came here just to make sure that you were okay." I said.

"Oh that's very nice of you guys! As you can see, I'm alright! I just pressed the button that let me call the both of you instead of what I usually do. Sorry about that!" Marcus said as I examined his expressions, trying to see if he was being truthful.

"That's not a problem Marcus! We'll let you know if we need anything! Bye!" Luana said as we waved to Marcus and headed outside of the Ranger Union, going back to Pueltown.

Luana and I sat down on a bench as we tried wondering if something was really different about Marcus or if I was just imagining it.

"Something seems wrong to me…Marcus definitely did not seem himself…I'm certain that something happened to Marcus, perhaps even everyone in the Operator's Room, maybe we can give everyone a call and see if they noticed and suspicious behavior?" I asked.

"Good idea, let me call Wendy and see if she's noticed any strange behavior from Marcus." Luana said as she gave Wendy a call, while I went ahead and called Murph.

"Hi Kellyn, hello Luana, how can I help you guys?" Murph asked.

"Hi Murph, we're wondering if Marcus was acting suspicious at all today. When we finished our quests, he called both Luana and myself, though he claimed that he did so by mistakenly pressing a button that would call Luana and I simultaneously. We also haven't gotten our Power Up Data which is rather odd, since Marcus usually does so rather quickly." I said.

"You guys have every right to be concerned, mainly because the Operator's command center doesn't even have a button that allows a Top Operator to call two individuals at once, whether they're partners or not. So whoever's posing as Marcus, isn't him. I wasn't at the Operator's Room today since Linda and I were helping some Top Mechanics with some equipment. However, you, Luana and I can all meet up to discuss a plan on confronting that imposter. I'm at Pueltown's Chocolate café and Bakery, are you guys nearby?" Murph asked as I looked over at Luana, who was only a few steps away from me.

"Yes, we're nearby. We're going to meet you there, bye Murph!" I said.

"Awesome, sounds like a good idea, bye guys!" Murph said as he hanged up.

"Nice job getting a hold of Murph! I tried calling Wendy but she didn't answer. Let's head over to that bakery and discuss what to do!" Luana said as I nodded while the both of us headed to the bakery, reaching there within minutes as we saw Murph patiently waiting outside.

"Hi guys, I'm glad that you two are here! This is a good spot to talk about what we can do since no one is around here at this time of day. I'm not sure if Marcus is the only impostor or not, but when we head back to the Ranger Union, we'll have to be very cautious. Regardless, as you both know, Marcus knows the ins and outs of being a Top Operator, so him making a mistake like that is incredibly suspicious and very unlike him. Aside from all of that, I have a great plan to get Marcus talking." Murph said.

"Hi Murph, we're glad we can help out! Tell us your plan!" I said.

"Well, my plan involves us getting the imposter in a room by himself and you two will remain hidden, since he could become volatile and I want it to appear as if we're not suspecting him of anything. The room he'll be in is on the third floor, it's just a small room on the left hand side of the lab that'll have numerous large lockers near the door, it's big enough to hold one of you easily. Does this sound like something you guys would want to do?" Murph asked.

"It definitely does! Let's go put this plan into action!" Luana said as we all made our way to the Ranger Union.

In a few minutes, we all entered the Ranger Union and everything appeared to be normal, Murph, Luana and I went up to the third floor, where the Operators weren't at their workstations, though we did see Marcus emerge from the brown door after waiting for a few minutes. Thankfully, he was distracted as he went into one of the cabinets and rummaged through them, looking for something rather intently. We all managed to sneak past him and open the door leading to the Operator's sleeping quarters, the lab, and the room Murph mentioned. As we entered, we saw that the room had at least a dozen lockers with small openings through them, as well as some bookshelves, filing cabinets and a large table with six chairs.

"Awesome, you two hide in the lockers and I'll be right back with Marcus!" Murph said as he ran out of the room.

"Luana, I'm a bit worried about the entire situation, but at the same time, we have to do it!" I said.

"You're right! Just stay as calm as you can, we'll be careful!" Luana said as we went into the lockers that were right by each other.

After a few minutes, Luana and I heard Murph reenter followed by another pair of footsteps, we soon saw that it was Marcus, as expected. The both of them sat down on the chairs, with Marcus having his back to us.

"Hi Murph, how can I help you? You wanted to speak to me about something, is that right?" Marcus asked.

"Yup, I do! I'm wondering if everything's okay with you, I hope the job isn't stressing you out too much. You've been making some errors today so I just wanted to ensure that nothing's troubling you." Murph said.

"Oh no need to worry about me, I appreciate your concern though! Kellyn and Luana were worried about me as well, but I'm doing okay!" Marcus said.

"Good, glad to know that you're doing alright! I was wondering, where's Rhythmi and Linda? I haven't seen them today." Murph said.

_'__Uh-oh, I hope this impostor isn't going to be too confrontational. Be careful Murph.' _I thought to myself.

"Rhythmi and Linda? I think that they both said they were really sick, the two of them really looked under the weather. I saw them heading to the downstairs bathroom a couple of minutes ago. Maybe it was something they ate?" Marcus said.

"I'm not sure Marcus, can you get the two of them for me? I had some great news for the three of you regarding your paychecks." Murph said.

"I'm not too certain where they are." Marcus said.

"Huh? You just said that you saw them headed to the bathroom, how can you not know where they are? You and them talk on a daily basis on and off of work." Murph asked as Marcus appeared to be panicking.

"What? I…I didn't say the bathroom; you must have misheard me!" Marcus said.

"No…I'm pretty sure I heard the word bathroom." Murph said as the imposter threw the table, sending it flying threw the air as he attempted to flee the room, though Luana and I jumped out and subdued him before he could even make it out the door.

"Where do you want to take him? I think the interrogation room is a good choice for him, but…what if Marcus isn't the only one who's an imposter?" I asked.

"That's a very good point, it could be very dangerous if anyone else in the Ranger Union is also an imposter…let's stay in here for now, I brought some rope with me, let's keep this guy subdued for now." Murph said as he turned towards the man posing as Marcus and tied him up, making sure he couldn't escape while the table was rearranged.

"So tell us, what did you do with our friend?" Luana asked.

"Tch, nothing serious, I just roughed him up a bit and stuffed him in a closet. Also, there isn't anyone else who came here, just me. My mission was to get Kincaid out of here." The impostor said.

"I'm not surprised that Kincaid would have one of his lackeys pose as someone in the Ranger Union… he'll do whatever it takes to get away. However…you can't be the only one that was sent, isn't that right?" I asked as the imposter flinched.

"What are you blabbering about? It's only me that's here!" The impostor said.

"I don't think so. Most, if not all of us at the Ranger Union communicate with each other on a daily basis, so I find it funny that you're claiming that you're the only spy that was sent here. Anyone would have been able to tell that you're definitely not Marcus, especially with that mistake you made by calling both of us at once." I said as the impostor became silent while Murph patted Luana and I on the shoulder.

"Wow…nice work you two. I'll try getting in touch with two of your other friends to help you guys out." Murph said.

"I don't think that'll work. We tried getting in touch with one of them earlier, and she never picked up. It's a serious problem and I'm not sure what to make of it." I said.

"Hmm, that is rather troubling…let me try getting a hold of them. I just hope the only individual we have to deal with is this phony." Murph said as he called Wendy or Sven, eventually, they managed to pick up after a few rings.

"Hi Murph! We're sorry that we couldn't pick up earlier, we were stuck in some area of Vien Forest where we couldn't get any Voicemails from Operators or any calls in general. I saw that I missed a call from Luana and I was about to call her back and then you ended up calling! Sven and I are going to have to be careful about the dead spots in some areas in case we run into a serious emergency. We're headed back to the Ranger Union right away, I got Staraptor tagging along with us." Wendy said.

"Hello Wendy, actually…don't come back to the Ranger Union, there's something weird going on, there's a person here that was posing to be Marcus who ended up making a ridiculous error. Kellyn and Luana are here with me and it's possible that there could be more people posing as individuals in the Ranger Union. If you guys are still going to come into the Ranger Union, bring a Pokémon inside for protection since I know Staraptor is going to have trouble getting through the hallways. We're going to be in the very last room on the left right by where the lab is." Murph said.

"Woah, that's horrible! We're going to head into the Ranger Union right now! We'll help you guys out, we have a plan! Bye Murph!" Wendy said.

"Good, thanks guys, be safe, bye!" Murph said as Wendy hanged up.

"Wow…you're an idiot Murph. Now they know exactly where you are…heheh, sure, they're going to see you soon, but are they actually Wendy or Sven?" The impostor asked as he started to laugh, while Murph went into a cabinet and found a T-shirt, stuffing it in the impostor's mouth.

"You talk too much. I just hope Wendy and Sven will reach here safely. I'm glad that you guys were understandably suspicious, if there's one impostor, there's the chance that there's going to be more of them." Murph said as we heard a loud crash.

"Well…at least we know what their plan was!" Luana said as Wendy and Sven came into the room.

"Hi guys, we had to crash through the roof in order to come in, we wouldn't want to take a chance and get captured or anything." Wendy said.

"That's right! Sorry about the damage we caused, so this guy is the impostor? Wow…he looks just like the real Marcus!" Sven said.

"Yeah, it's a good thing that you guys busted through that glass. There's probably more doppelgangers posing as people for all that we know." I said.

"Hmm, that really is a problem…do you think Chairperson Erma is safe? Maybe she knows what happened!" Wendy said.

"That was something I thought of, but the problem is that we haven't seen anyone that we usually see constantly. It's really troubling because even if we find Chairperson Erma, it can be difficult to say if she's the one that we all know. There has to be something we can do to know exactly where everyone is, and if they're really impostors." Luana said.

"A way to figure out if someone's an impostor…I got it! Sven, Wendy, perhaps you two can capture a Psychic type Pokémon and have it analyze the minds of everyone in the Ranger Union to see if they're really who they say they are!" I said.

"Wow, that's a great idea! Let's go Wendy, we got a Psychic type to catch! We'll be back quickly guys, don't worry!" Sven said as they quickly exited the room.

"Nice work sweetheart, it was good thinking to get a Psychic Pokémon to help us, otherwise, it would have been nearly impossible to see who's legitimate or not." Luana whispered.

"Thanks, it's really terrifying to know that Kincaid is going through all this trouble in order to escape. I hope that Sven and Wendy come back soon." I said.

"Don't you guys worry, this impostor isn't going anywhere. Wendy and Sven are going to be back soon, they'll be fine!" Murph said.

"I'm concerned that they'll run into trouble along the way. After all, look at how much trouble this one caused." Luana said as we looked at the impostor who was still gagged, clearly looking irritated.

After a few minutes of us sitting down, Wendy and Sven came back in with an Alakazam with the two of them looking very happy.

"Sorry we took so long, we found an Alakazam that can check the minds of everyone and see who's not an impostor. It'll take a few seconds." Sven said as Alakazam's eyes turned blue before it quickly closed its eyes.

After a few seconds, Alakazam raised its arms up as it opened its eyes once more. After a few seconds, Alakazam lowered its arms and its eye color returned to normal, with a blue aura filling the room.

"Wow, thanks Alakazam!" Murph said.

"Guys, I got an idea, how about we have Alakazam teleport all the impostors to the Almia prison after we give them a call? Do any of you know where it is?" I asked as Murph nodded.

"I do, it's located in Boyleland! Let me call the warden there." Murph said as he called the warden and stepped over to the table, coming back a few minutes later.

"If we have the all clear, then Kellyn or Luana should do the honors since they observed the strange occurrence in the first place!" Sven asked as Murph gave the thumbs up.

"Thanks Sven! Alakazam, please teleport the impostors to the Almia Prison and use your Psychic powers to render them unable to move!" We said as we saw the impostor Marcus disappear.

"Awesome, looks like that's taken care of!" Wendy said.

"I sure hope so, let's go see if everyone's okay!" I said as we exited the room.

We all made our way to the Operator's Room, finding it vacant as before, everyone split up while Luana and I went to the cafeteria and looked around for anyone, checking where the food would usually be served and also looking in the kitchen area, where there weren't any chefs. We looked underneath the tables and at the far end, tied up, was Chairperson Erma. Luana and I moved the table and checked for a pulse and we both breathed a sigh of relief once we confirmed Chairperson Erma was safe. We removed her restraints as she sat up, gasping for air as I took an unopened bottle of water from the nearby table.

"D-dearies…thank you. Team Dim Sun grunts swarmed the Operator's Room, though we're not sure how they managed to get in. Linda and Murph were with me in the lobby at the time when some grunts knocked us out. Do you know where everyone else is?" Chairperson Erma asked as we left the cafeteria.

"It's no problem ma'am. Out of everyone in the entire Ranger Union that we know of, Wendy, Sven and Murph were the only ones who weren't impostors. There was someone posing as Marcus for instance, and Wendy and Sven found an Alakazam and had it teleport the impostors to Almia's prison where they're not going to be able to move until they're rounded up." I said.

"Wonderful work! I'll make sure to promote all of you for the daring rescue you all did." Chairperson Erma said.

"Wow, thank you Chairperson Erma, that really means a lot!" Luana said as we saw Wendy and Sven, along with Rhythmi and Murph.

"Guys, nice work finding Chairperson Erma! We were able to find Rhythmi, but we haven't found Keith, Marcus, Linda, Ben or Betty!" Sven said.

"Hmm, Ben and Betty are usually in the Pokémon Training Room, but it's very possible they were moved elsewhere along with everyone else. They could be somewhere downstairs." I said as everyone headed downstairs.

Luana and I first went to the Pokémon Training Room, where our Pokémon were still asleep, though I gently nudged Pachirisu awake and patted him.

"Hi Pachirisu, sorry for waking you up. We were wondering if you saw Ben or Betty anywhere?" I asked as Pachirisu sadly shook his head.

"Hmm, where could Ben and Betty be then? Maybe they're elsewhere on the second floor or above?" Luana asked.

"That could be very possible. Pachirisu, did all of you eat today?" I asked as Pachirisu happily nodded.

"Aww, good Pachirisu, go back to sleep." Luana said as Pachirisu lied back down as we patted him softly, heading out of the room.

"I figured asking Pachirisu would be the best idea since Ben and Betty are almost always here, as well as the fact that if Pachirisu didn't eat today, then it would have meant that Ben and Betty could have been captured earlier than anyone else." I said.

"Oooh, good thinking as usual! Let's go ahead and check that training room for Top Rangers. If Team Dim Sun grunts managed to act similar to people we know, it's possible they know about the secret area as well." Luana said as we headed to back wall of the lobby as I placed my palm print in the center, with the area leading to the training room for Top Rangers opening up.

Luana and I jogged to the very end of it, heading to where the holographic projector was and spotted Ben, Betty and Linda tied up. We immediately ran over to them and untied them, making sure they were okay as they all groggily sat up, rubbing the back of their necks and arms.

"Woah, Kellyn, Luana, you guys saved us! Thank you so much, we thought we'd be trapped down here!" Ben said.

"Not a problem guys, come with us, everyone's searching for you and the others!" I said as we all exited the room and headed to the lobby, where we saw Chairperson Erma.

"Nice work finding Ben, Betty and Linda, dearies! Are all of you okay?" Chairperson Erma asked.

"Yes ma'am, we're fine, just a little roughed up." Betty said with a hoarse voice.

"It was pretty scary being there, we were worried that it would have been a few more hours until we were found!" Betty said.

"Not to worry, you're all safe now. The three of you should sit down considering what you've all been through. Murph will be happy to know all of you are okay, especially you, Linda." Chairperson Erma said as Ben, Betty and Linda sat down on some nearby chairs.

"I know, he really worries about me. I hope I didn't make him fret too much." Linda said.

After a few seconds, Murph came downstairs and spotted Linda, immediately running over to her as he gave her an embrace as tears ran down his face.

"L-Linda…you're okay! Ben, Betty, so are you guys! I'm so glad no one's been hurt." Murph said as Linda patted his back affectionately while Sven, Wendy, Keith and Marcus came downstairs.

"The three of us were able to find Keith and Marcus!" Sven said.

"Nice work, everyone we know of has been found! Now it's time for Keith, Sven and I to find the other Rangers and Top Mechanics to make sure they're okay!" Wendy said as we all shared a high five while Keith, Sven and Wendy ran back upstairs, with Marcus sitting down next to Ben while Linda smiled.

"Wow, you guys are incredible! How did you know that anyone in the Ranger Union was taken over by these doppelgangers to begin with?" Linda asked.

"Well after we completed two quests, we found something surprising, which was the fake Marcus stating that he called the both of us at the same time by mistake, even though there's no way for him to do so. The whole event was very…interesting, especially because of the first impostor we found, once we found one impostor, we knew there had to be more of them." I said.

"It's a great thing you all acted on your instincts, awesome work guys!" Keith said as he high fived us while everyone besides us Top Rangers headed back upstairs.

"Hahah, thanks. Now that we're all here, Luana and I were going to discuss Kincaid and our thoughts about him not being Team Dim Sun's leader. Can we take this somewhere private?" I asked as we all tried thinking of where the best place would be.

"What about the Top Ranger Training Room? It's pretty secluded!" Sven said.

"Hmm, good idea! We can do some training there when we're done as well!" Luana said as we all headed into the Top Ranger Training Room through the back wall's secret panel.

We all made it to the area with the holographic projector and sat down in the chairs, using the table as a good way we can all talk.

"Okay, now that we're here, what are you and Luana's thoughts on Kincaid?" Wendy asked.

"Well, we both feel that there's several things that don't make sense or are extremely strange to consider. For instance, after we defeated the Sinis Trio in battle, they all teleported away, whereas none of the grunts or Kincaid did that. Also, you guys saw the escape hatch, anyone else would have had the Gliscor attack us and have a grunt put there to issue commands while he escapes easily." I said.

"Exactly, that alone is one of the biggest issues Kellyn and I have with Kincaid not actually being the boss, or the one that's in the Ranger Union right now as being a double while the real one is elsewhere." Luana said as everyone thought over what we said.

"Wow…that's something that we didn't really consider, but it does make a lot of sense." Sven said.

"The only problem is, we don't know how to prove that Kincaid is either not the real boss or just someone taking the blame for him…we could always tell Chairperson Erma but it appears like he's not talking." I said.

"That really is troubling, maybe we can at least suggest it to Chairperson Erma. She does like all of us, so she'll most likely consider it." Keith said.

"That's a possibility, it wouldn't hurt to ask!" I said as everyone got up, though Sven and Wendy seemed a bit worried.

"We can do it for you guys, you've all done a lot of work today already! You guys just relax!" Wendy said.

"Yeah, don't you guys worry, we'll come back down as soon as we tell Chairperson Erma!" Sven said.

"Are you guys sure?" Luana asked.

"We're sure, besides, the two of you need some alone time!" Keith said with a chuckle.

"Good point, thanks guys, we appreciate it!" I said as they all left the room, leaving Luana and me alone.

"I hope Chairperson Erma agrees with what we're saying, the entire thing is just so weird…Kincaid was captured a bit too easily, you know?" Luana said.

"I feel that Chairperson Erma would agree with us, she's a smart lady that's helped us out tremendously. As for Kincaid, I know exactly what you mean, some of the admins and grunts put up better fights than he did." I said as Keith, Wendy and Sven came back with grins on their faces.

"Good news, Chairperson Erma is going to get a psychologist in the interrogation room with Kincaid along with a Ranger for security. She'll be making sure that Kincaid is questioned, though it'll take some time. She also said that you guys can either take today off or do any quests you guys would like." Keith said.

"Well that sounds like fun, what would you like to do Luana?" I asked.

"Hmm, doing the last two quests sound fun! Those are in Haruba Village, so we'll just have to get a couple of Psychic type Pokémon to teleport us there and back to the Ranger Union!" Luana said.

"Don't push yourselves too hard guys, okay?" Keith said.

"We'll try not to, see you guys soon!" I said as Luana and I headed out of the room and exited the Ranger Union, looking for a Staraptor.

Eventually, we spotted a Staraptor flying near the river leading to Crysta Cave and I made a few loops around it, capturing it quickly as Luana and I hopped aboard.

"Staraptor, please take us inside Crysta Cave!" Luana said as Staraptor nodded and flew into the air, heading towards Crysta Cave.

We reached there within minutes as Staraptor flew us inside and gently landed by the pier as we got off of it.

"Staraptor, we'll be a few minutes okay? Please wait for us." I said as Staraptor nodded while we headed to the right hand side, going down the small corridor.

As we made our way to the end and spotted the same small cave opening, we noticed the Chingling with another one of its kind as they both happily played together. The two Pokémon noticed us and didn't even attempt to attack and instead, danced around us as I drew a few loops around them, capturing them instantly as Luana giggled.

"Those were some nice dance moves Chingling. Can one of you please teleport us to Haruba Village?" Luana said as we were hit with a pink wave of Psychic power as we soon found ourselves in Haruba Village.


	49. Chapter 49: Quests

**Disclaimer: I don't own** Pokemon!

Chapter 49: Quests

"Nice, we're here in Haruba Village! Let me check the quest information, hopefully it updated by now so we know who we have to help! Maybe we'll need to find a missing Pokémon or something." I said as I checked my Styler and looked at the quest information while Luana held my arm.

The quest information required us to help out Terry and that he'll provide us additional information at his house.

"Oooh, we'll get to help my brother out, are you ready to go?" Luana asked with a smile.

"I am, let's go!" I said as we jogged over to Terry's house, reaching there within minutes as we found Terry by the front, happily waving to us as we waved back.

"Hello Terry, great to see you again!" Luana said.

"Nice to see you, Terry!" I said as all of us exchanged hugs.

"Hello guys, you both look well, that's great! Luana, I wanted to thank you for the money you sent me, I really appreciate that very much." Terry said.

"Not a problem bro, anything I can do to help! What is the quest you'd like us to help you out with?" Luana asked.

"Well the quest involves getting sand from a Hippowdon, I need to make some glass objects and Hippowdon sand seems to be the best choice. I need two jars worth of sand if that's possible! Can you two please help me?" Terry asked.

"Of course! We'll get that sand for you!" I said as Terry handed us two jars in a bag.

"Thank you so much guys, I really appreciate it!" Terry said.

"Anytime bro, be back soon!" Luana said as we headed towards Hippowdon Ruins, avoiding the various Skorupi along the way.

We eventually made our way to the Hippowdon Ruins where we spotted Hippowdon by itself just like last time. I carefully went over to the Hippowdon as it kicked up a sandstorm, which made me shield my eyes quickly. I then made loops around it from a safe distance of about ten feet or so, while the Dodrio continued running around in a panic. Hippowdon then attempted to attack me with Mud Bomb, though I managed to dodge it safely as I made a few more loops around it, capturing it as the sandstorm subsided and the Dodrio calmed down. The Dodrio then walked out of the area I was in and stayed by the Ruins entrance as Luana walked over to me and took a jar out while I did the same.

"Hippowdon, we would like two jars worth of sand please. I hope it isn't any trouble." I said as Hippowdon smiled and happily gave us the two jars we need.

"Thanks Hippowdon, we appreciate your help!" Luana said as we gently patted Hippowdon on the head as it smiled once more and walked a small distance, burrowing underground.

"Nice, now that we've got the sand, let's head back to your brother!" I said as Luana and I put the jars back in the bag as we made our way back to Haruba Village after several minutes.

We both then jogged over to Terry's house where he was observing his Riolu as he cleaned them up a bit, he turned around when he heard us and smiled.

"Hi guys, you were back quickly, did you two get the jars?" Terry asked as we showed him the jars and put them back in the bag, handing it to Terry.

"There you go, two jars filled with Hippowdon sand!" I said as Terry opened the door to his home.

"Thank you so much guys, please come in!" Terry said as we entered his home and took off our shoes.

Terry's living room was mostly the same with his chairs and table, though he now had a bit more furniture such as a few bookshelves, a Cacturne plush and another table that had a machine on top of it.

"Wow, your place looks awesome!" Luana said.

"I agree, I like the Cacturne plush! If you don't mind me asking, what's that machine for? Is it to make items out of Hippowdon sand?" I asked as Terry smiled.

"Thanks guys, I'm happy you two like the place! As for that machine, you're correct! It can make flutes and vases out of Hippowdon sand and people who buy them really love the smooth finish that the items get. I've tried other sand before and it just doesn't work at all. Thank you once again!" Terry said.

"Wow, that's pretty awesome! I'm glad that people enjoy your items as well, we're glad that we can help you!" Luana said.

"Hahah yeah, it's always great to help out people! Mom and dad are at work, but I can let them know that you stopped by!" Terry said as I was informed the second Haruba Village quest was available to us, ironically, it required us to help Mr. and Mrs. Rakua with the chemical plant and that more information will be provided at the plant's entrance.

"That's okay Terry, you don't have to do so, the last quest actually needs Luana and I to help out your parents at the chemical plant. I assume that Mrs. Rakua works at the clinic in her spare time or something similar?" I said as Luana smiled.

"That's right! Mom usually helps dad out at the plant on her off days, we'll head there right now then. Terry, if you need anything, let us know, okay? We'll let you know when we're leaving, we'll meet you by the pier if that's okay with you!" Luana said.

"That sounds like a plan to me, I'll make sure to do that!" Terry said as we waved and put our shoes back on, heading out of the house as I followed Luana to the chemical plant, which was quite a good distance away from Haruba Village.

"Wow, this place is really something else. I see your parents over there, let's go see what they need!" I said as we headed through the gate and walked over to Mr. and Mrs. Rakua where the both of them shook our hands and hugged us.

_'__I'm glad they're here, they look much happier than the first time I met them. I hope they'll continue to mend their relationship with their kids.' _I thought to myself.

"Hi Kellyn, hi Luana, it's nice to see you two. We wanted to thank you for the money you sent us, we'll put it to good use." Mr. Rakua said.

"Yes, it'll come in handy if we need to get gifts for you, Kellyn or Terry. We could also use some money to make small renovations to the house or if we ever need to make mortgage payments." Mrs. Rakua said.

"Not a problem, I'm glad that I could help! What sort of quest do you guys need?" Luana asked.

"The chemical is having some problems with Raticate all around the basement of the facility. The chemical plant makes some of the various equipment for other regions and also makes some things such as fuel cells and batteries for vehicles, but the Raticate are causing serious problems by chewing some of the wires. These ones though…they don't seem like themselves, they're act like they're being mind-controlled, like those Pokémon Team Dim Sun use." Mr. Rakua said.

"Hmm, that seems very strange, we'll check it out right away!" I said.

"Good, just be careful." Mrs. Rakua said as the guard let us in to the facility.

Luana and I went through many hallways and observed the workers making several different types of equipment and batteries. We then saw where the basement was and headed down it, prepared to capture the Raticate and deal with a grunt. Going down the staircase wasn't the problem, but the lights continuously cutting out certainly didn't make it easy. When the basement was illuminated, we could see several wrenches, laptops, lug nuts and other various parts.

Eventually, the lights came on completely and didn't flicker any more, though Luana and I could see a couple of wires already chewed up. We checked the main area of the basement as it was rather large, at least thirty feet long and forty feet wide, I decided to look by the side of the staircase with Luana checking the area a few inches from me as we were both back to back.

I turned towards the staircase and saw a dozen Raticate along with a Team Dim Sun grunt smirking about ten feet away. Feeling afraid of the Raticate attacking us, I gently grabbed Luana's shoulder, my hand slightly shaking as I did so, Luana turned around as the grunt smirked once more as he cackled loudly.

"Well, if it isn't a pair of Rangers…Raticate, gnaw at them now!" The grunt said as he ordered the Raticate to lunge at us, with Luana and I dodging out of the way just in time.

Luana and I acted quickly, drawing loops around six Raticate that were together, capturing them with ease, though the other six saw this and tried biting us and we managed to barely get out of the way. Luana and I captured two more Raticate, leaving only four more to go. These four in particular then tried tackling us, though all of them missed us and crashed into the grunt, sending him into the wall. We captured three of them but the last one was very fast and managed to tackle Luana, though I caught her before she ended up falling on the ground. I was able to capture the last one as it tried charging at us once more and with all the Raticate captured, they ended up appearing very confused and headed up the staircase, while the grunt cowered in fear.

"H-hi Rangers, how are you two doing?" The grunt said as I restrained him.

Luana and I took our time checking the entire basement for any grunts that may not have been spotted and once we confirmed no other grunts were there, Luana and I brought this grunt to the main facility and out of one of the exit doors so no workers would see him. Mr. and Mrs. Rakua were overjoyed to see us and a Ranger quickly walked up to us and tied the grunt up, he thanked the both of us for our help and walked away.

"Luana! Kellyn! You're both okay! What did you two see down there?" Mrs. Rakua asked.

"Yes, we're fine! Kellyn and I saw a dozen Raticate and a grunt down there, we managed to capture them after a brief struggle." Luana said.

"That's right, though unfortunately, some wires were chewed through which could be a serious problem. Aside from that, we were able to get everything handled." I said.

"Thank you so much, those wires were connected to some various equipment, we'll need to fix those right away. It was great seeing you two!" Mr. Rakua said.

"Yes it was, thanks for helping us, it means a lot!" Mrs. Rakua said.

"Not a problem, glad we could help! It was nice to see the both of you as well!" I said.

"Hopefully you're able to fix those wires soon! It was nice to see you mom and dad, we'll have to be heading back to the Ranger Union with a Psychic type Pokémon. I'll miss the both of you, but we love you very much. We're going to see Terry before we leave!" Luana said as we both hugged her parents.

"We'll miss you too sweetheart, thanks for the help once again. Make sure you guys don't have Terry waiting too long!" Mr. Rakua said.

"Oh and don't worry about those wires, it won't take too long! We'll see you two!" Mrs. Rakua said as they hugged us once more and waved, heading inside the facility quickly.

"I'm glad they changed, it was what the whole family needed to heal." I said as Luana kissed me on the cheek.

"I'm glad that you care so much and that you understood our family so well, even when you first met them. Let's get the Psychic type Pokémon and then say bye to Terry before we leave!" Luana said as I nodded.

As we headed back to Haruba Village, we spotted a **Girafarig halfway between the chemical plant and the village. I went ahead and** I quickly captured the Girafarig after I avoided its Dark Pulse and the Pokémon got added to our Browser. Luana and I made our way to the pier where Terry was waiting and he happily waved to us while we did the same.

"Kellyn, Luana! I wanted to say goodbye to you guys off before I head to Boyleland, I already said bye to mom and dad so I just need to hop on the boat!" Terry said.

"Boyleland? I think you'll like it there, it's a very nice place from what I've heard!" I said.

"It sure sounds pretty awesome, I take it you guys are heading back to the Ranger Union already?" Terry asked.

"We certainly are, thanks to this awesome Pokémon!" Luana said as she petted Girafarig.

"Ooh, a Girafarig, very nice! It was good to see you guys, take it easy!" Terry said.

"Don't worry, we will!" We said.

Terry hopped on Captain Boyle's boat which already had its engine running and the boat went off from the pier and Terry waved to us as he got farther away.

"I hope he enjoys himself!" Luana said.

"He will, don't worry, exploration is his thing! Are you ready to go back home?" I asked.

"I am! Marcus will be pretty happy to know that we've done four quests already!" Luana said.

"He certainly will! Girafarig, please take us home!" I said as Girafarig launched a purple ray at us and we were quickly teleported to the Ranger Union's lobby.

"Nice work, you and I did even more awesome than usual, we only got fifteen quests to go! What were you thinking of doing now?" Luana asked.

"You and I could probably see how everyone's doing, perhaps some Rangers were able to get some information out of Kincaid by now." I said as my Styler ringed.

"Kellyn, Luana, it's me Marcus! Great work on the quests, I'll be sending your Power Up data, that's all for now! Bye guys!" Marcus said.

"Thanks Marcus, we appreciate it, bye!" I said as Marcus hanged up.

Soon after, we received notification that we got Power Up data for reducing Dark, Fire, Ground and Psychic type attacks by three and gave each other a high five since they'll certainly come in handy.

"Well, now that that's done with, let's see how our Pokémon are doing. Aside from Pachirisu, most of them were asleep earlier so it'd be nice to play with them." Luana said.

"Great idea, they're probably stressed out from everything that happened at the facility." I said as we both entered the Pokémon Training Room.

Ben was at the counter like usual while our Pokémon were sitting and relaxing, though they immediately hopped up and crowded around us when they saw us.

"Hi guys, how are you two doing? We never got to properly thank you for saving us and Linda, it was really scary being tied up there!" Ben said.

"We're doing good, thank you. There's no need to thank us though, we're glad to have helped you guys out, I couldn't imagine what you guys were thinking as you were lying down there. Luana and I just came here because we wanted to spend some time with our Pokémon!" I said.

"Well, thank you, Kellyn and Luana, thank you so much for saving us. Your Pokémon look eager as always to be with you guys, let me just get some stuff for them to interact with." Ben said as Betty came from the back, writing down something on a clipboard as she saw us and waved.

"Hi Betty, good to see you!" Luana said as Betty smiled while Ben quickly went to the back.

"Hm? Betty, if you don't mind me asking, do you have a sore throat?" I asked as Betty nodded sadly.

"Oh no, we're sorry to hear that, I remember how strained your voice sounded! We hope you feel better soon!" Luana said as Betty smiled.

"Okay, I got all the stuff your Pokémon will need!" Ben said as he came from the back room and put a ton of squeaky toys down, which the Pokémon happily played with.

"Woah, thanks Ben!" I said as Betty happily observed the Pokémon while Luana and I went to play with them.

"Aww you guys really missed us, huh?" Luana asked as Buneary and Raichu snuggled with her, while Pachirisu and Vulpix did the same, with each of them giving us cuddles.

This went on for several minutes and I could tell whatever anxiety or stress our Pokémon felt was completely gone and they began to relax much more compared to before.

"They're so adorable! By the way Ben and Betty, did our Pokémon eat yet?" I asked as both of them shook their heads.

"They definitely did, don't you worry! We make sure that they always eat and then do some training before they play. They were actually just about to do so when you guys came in!" Ben said as we continued petting and hugging our Partner Pokémon, who were very happy for the attention.

"Good, thanks for taking such good care of them, it really means a lot to us. Is there anything we can do for you guys? Like getting food for you or something?" Luana asked.

"No need! Think of you guys helping out Almia like helping us out too, and well, you guys have done a lot to help out people and Pokémon." Ben said as Betty quickly nodded.

"I see what you mean Ben, that makes sense!" Luana said as Raichu nuzzled her.

Luana and I played with our Pokémon for another twenty minutes or so and we really enjoyed making our Pokémon happy. Eventually, our Pokémon got tired and soon went over to their little beds, falling asleep as we petted all of them gently.

"Wow, they look so content when they sleep! They really wore themselves out when we played with them, I'm really happy that they enjoyed themselves." I said as Luana and I stood up.

"We'll see you guys later, it was nice to see you two!" Ben said as Betty happily nodded.

"It was good to see you too, thanks for taking such good care of our Pokémon." Luana said.

"Not a problem, let us know if you need anything!" Ben said.

"We will, see you Ben and Betty, hope you feel better soon Betty!" I said as Ben and Betty waved, afterwards, Luana and I exited the room and went to the lobby, sitting down in some chairs.

"Hmm, Kellyn, what should we do? We've done all the quests that we needed to do for today, plus you and I were right about Marcus being impersonated and helped rescue a few people. I don't know what else we can do to pass the time. Do you have any suggestions?" Luana asked.

"I'm at a loss as well…maybe we can head to the bedroom and get some rest, I'm feeling a bit exhausted." I said as I yawned and checked my Styler, seeing that it was 3:49 P.M. and I was surprised I was tired already.

"It sure seems like you are, let's go before you fall asleep!" Luana said as we headed to our bedroom.

Luana and I took our shoes off and immediately went on the bed, snuggling closely as I put the blanket over the two of us.

"This is comfy, I'll definitely be able to fall asleep now!" I said as Luana giggled.

"Good, you need to rest." Luana said.

Luana snuggled a bit closer to me and I soon felt my eyes closing as I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up a few hours later, noticing it was 5:17 P.M. on my Styler and I smiled as I saw Luana peacefully sleeping next to me with my arm over her. Luana eventually woke up as I saw her eyes flutter open, which was extremely adorable.

"Hi Luana, have a good rest?" I asked as Luana smiled.

"Yes I did, were you watching me sleep?" Luana asked.

"I did, you looked really peaceful as well. It's only 5:18 P.M. now, so it's still early. Would you like to see what everyone else might be doing now?" I asked.

"Sure, that'll be a good idea!" Luana said as we got out of bed and put our shoes on, heading out of the door.

Luana and I squeaked the little Eevee squeak toy as usual and waited for a few seconds before Wendy opened up the door with a smile on her face.

"Hi guys! It's good to see you, please come in!" Wendy said as we entered, taking off our shoes once more as Sven waved to us from a large blue couch.

"Hi Wendy, hi Sven, how are you guys doing?" Luana asked as Wendy sat down next to Sven while we joined the both of them.

"We're doing good, it's pretty quiet around the Ranger Union, but compared to earlier, I don't mind. Those impersonators were really scary!" Sven said.

"Yeah…they were, it's a good thing they can't harm anyone else now. We figured that it would be good to see how you guys are doing after that entire situation." I said.

"We appreciate you guys checking up on us! Wendy and I just went to Pueltown and got this chair since we didn't really have anything to do." Sven said.

"It's a pretty nice chair, it looks good in your room! By the way, did you guys hear anything about if the interrogation on Kincaid is going well? Or are they still in there talking to him?" Luana asked.

"Sven and I went up there a few minutes ago and they're still trying to get him to speak. It's not going well, no matter what, he's not speaking at all." Wendy said.

"Hm, based on our encounters from Kincaid, as well as what I remember from Ranger School, he certainly is the type to brag about himself and the work that he's been doing for Team Dim Sun. Even though he's being interrogated, he still seems like he would have bragged about something by now…I'm surprised he hasn't said anything yet." I said.

"I know what you mean, it seems really weird…whether he's not the real boss like we suspect, or if he actually is the boss, everyone needs to be cautious. Kincaid, or someone, has already had imposters sent to the Ranger Union and even managed to infiltrate it, that is extremely terrifying." Luana said as we all nodded in agreement.

"Yeah…that's pretty creepy…I'm just glad we have all three Gems back, I was worried Team Dim Sun would keep them and use them for nefarious reasons, it's also a good thing we rescued Isaac as well." Wendy said.

"Having those Gems back is absolutely important for the Ranger Union, especially because of how tough it is to know what Team Dim Sun is planning. I'm thrilled that Isaac is safe after we helped him escape from Team Dim Sun, they would have kept manipulating him and have him design more machines. Speaking of the organization, I think that we'll have to be extra careful with them from now on, you guys saw how vicious some of them were in that facility." I said.

"Yeah, that's true, it was pretty frightening dealing with those grunts and the Sinis Trio. I didn't really know what to expect with them at all." Sven said.

"I agree, that was rather frightening…some of those grunts were so angry, it wasn't something I ever saw from any of them before. Something else that I'm wondering about is that giant Shadow Crystal. Remember how we saw it in Chroma Ruins? We didn't spot it anywhere in the facility…if that Shadow Crystal was used for the Miniremo units, then it could power up hundreds, if not thousands of them!" I said.

"Oh man…you're scaring me…but you also make a really great point, it's really odd that we didn't spot that Shadow Crystal anywhere and that crystal really was gigantic, so the fact that we didn't see it is a concern." Sven said.

"Exactly, I think we should bring it up to Chairperson Erma, that Shadow Crystal has to be somewhere." Luana said as we all went upstairs to the third floor.

As we made our way to the Operator's Room, I noticed that Linda, Rhythmi and Marcus weren't there as usual, with three other Top Operators being there instead though Chairperson Erma was in the spot she would be around this time.

"Hi Chairperson Erma, how are you doing? We wanted to ask you something that's really important, it's regarding the Shadow Crystal. You know how we saw the hole where it once was in the Chroma Ruins?" I asked.

"Hello dearies, I'm doing well. I remember the Shadow Crystal already being gone when you all reached there. What were your thoughts on it?" Chairperson Erma asked.

"Well ma'am, as we were looking around the facility, we all found it odd that we never saw the Shadow Crystal. Maybe you can have us, or other Rangers searching for where it could be? The only problem is that we don't even know where to start." I said as Chairperson Erma seemed deep in thought.

"Hmm, that does make quite a lot of sense…I'll have some Rangers patrol every town and be on the lookout for any grunts that could be lurking around the area. The four of you need to relax and take a break. If anything comes up, the four of you will be the first to know!" Chairperson Erma said.

"Oh, awesome, thank you Chairperson Erma! That sounds good to us, right guys?" I asked as everyone nodded.

"Not a problem at all dearies. Having the four of you do everything wouldn't be fair to you guys, plus you've all gotten the gems back, captured Kincaid and rescued some of the Ranger Union staff, that alone is deserving of a break in my opinion!" Chairperson Erma said.

"That's really nice of you Chairperson Erma, we'll definitely take a break and relax a bit!" Wendy said.

"Oh, before we go and take that break, where's Marcus, Linda and Rhythmi? We didn't see them in their workstations so we were wondering where they were." Luana said.

"Marcus, Rhythmi and Linda are taking a rest at the moment, they just went in about an hour ago and they're really exhausted." Chairperson Erma said.

"Wow, well I hope they get the rest they need, thanks for letting us know! Now we'll go ahead and take that break!" I said.

"Good, if any of you need anything, then I'll be in this room for most of today!" Chairperson Erma said.

"Thanks Chairperson Erma, we'll just be in our bedrooms!" Luana said as we all headed downstairs to the lobby.

"That was a smart idea on letting Chairperson Erma know about the Shadow Crystal, between the three Gems being recovered not too long ago and dealing with some impersonators, things were a bit hectic at the Ranger Union." Sven said.

"Yeah, it's a good thing that some Rangers will be searching all around Almia for it, though I can't imagine where the Shadow Crystal would be held. The only location I could even think of would be the facility we were at, but of course, it wasn't anywhere there, and we explored every room!" I said.

"I know, it's pretty concerning, especially because Team Dim Sun's the group that has it. I'm very worried about what they're going to do with it." Wendy said.

_'__Wait a second…Jeff mentioned the Ultimate Machine and how it's designed to control every Pokémon in Almia and even though it's about twenty percent complete…it could still be made to control every Pokemon in other regions as well.' _I thought to myself.

"Kellyn? Kellyn, are you okay?" Luana asked as she gently shook me.

"Huh?! Oh…I'm very sorry, I was just thinking about what Jeff told us about that Ultimate Machine and what it'll be used for. It's seriously troubling just to think about." I said as Luana gave me a hug.

"That's right, it really is something to worry about, especially because of the effects the Gigaremos and Miniremos have caused on Pokémon that we helped. That Ultimate Machine sounded terrifying…controlling all Pokémon in Almia, let alone the world…is not a good thing to think about." Luana said.

"I know…it's a good thing that Ultimate Machine won't be built, I'm very certain that the person specializing in technology was Isaac, hopefully, Team Dim Sun can't have their goal happen since we got Isaac with us!" Sven said.

"You could very well be right, but knowing Kincaid and Team Dim Sun, they've got something up their sleeves…I feel that the Shadow Crystal has to be the key to that Ultimate Machine. If the Shadow Crystal is found, maybe we'll be able to prevent Team Dim Sun from completing, or attempting to finish, the Ultimate Machine, right?" I said.

"Yeah, we'll show Team Dim Sun who's boss! Once that Shadow Crystal is located, Team Dim Sun won't be able to do much with their plan of controlling every Pokémon in Almia!" Luana said.

"Good, it seems like that Shadow Crystal really is the key to saving Almia." Wendy said as she yawned.

"Uh-oh, Wendy's tired, we'll be going in to take a nap guys, let us know if you need anything!" Sven said.

"We will, thanks Sven, see you guys later!" I said as we all waved.

Sven and Wendy headed to their bedroom, while Luana and I went to ours. As we entered, we took off our shoes and went back on the bed, as I lied down, I was contemplating the Shadow Crystal, and where it could be.

"Kellyn? You're still thinking about the Shadow Crystal and where it is, right?" Luana asked as she lied down next to me.

"I am, it's really concerning about what Team Dim Sun is doing with it. I just don't want any people or Pokémon to get hurt because of them." I said.

"I get what you mean, if people or Pokémon continue to get hurt because of Team Dim Sun, then that would be horrible! However, I think that the other Rangers should be able to find the Shadow Crystal as long as they look for it as best as they can. If they're not able to find it, then we'll just have to ask Chairperson Erma if we can search for it ourselves. Don't worry Kellyn, we'll put an end to Team Dim Sun. We've faced Kincaid before, as well as the Sinis Trio and numerous grunts and admins, finding the Shadow Crystal is most likely going to take time, but it'll happen." Luana said.

"You're right Luana! Team Dim Sun might have a lot of members, but so does the Ranger Union! For now, we'll just do quests and when they've found the Shadow Crystal, we'll then conduct a plan to storm the base it's at." I said as Luana smiled.

"Good, don't fret anymore please, get some rest too!" Luana said as we cuddled next to each other.

"Alright, I'll go ahead and rest a bit if you really want me to. Have a good rest Luana." I said as I kissed Luana's cheek.

"Thanks Kellyn, I don't want you working yourself too hard, just make yourself comfortable." Luana said as I closed my eyes, soon drifting off to sleep.

As I woke up, I felt very refreshed and looked at my Styler, seeing that it was 6:32 P.M., Luana was already sitting up and stretching and I decided to poke her nose, which made her giggle.

"If you weren't awake before, then that certainly woke you up, didn't it? Did you have a nice rest?" I asked.

"I did, that rest was just what I needed. We've been working ourselves pretty hard." Luana said.

"I agree, we've all been really stressed out as well considering the whole thing with Team Dim Sun. Hopefully we won't have much to do for the next day or so, our bodies all have to recover so we don't strain ourselves too much." I said.

"Yeah, that little bit of rest was great, it was just what I needed to feel better!" Luana said.

"It definitely was, let's go see if there's something we can do in the meantime." I said as I started to get off the bed, though Luana gently held me back down.

"Actually…maybe you and I can have some fun before we continue doing our usual Ranger duties. Especially now that we're alone…" Luana said with a smirk while I smiled back at her.

"That sounds like a great idea, we're going to enjoy ourselves even more than last time. Close your eyes for a bit." I said as Luana did so.

_'__Luana, you're so amazing…_ _you and I really connect emotionally. I'll make sure that you and I have lots of fun together, now and in the future.' _I thought to myself.

I blushed slightly as I kissed Luana passionately on the lips, while she kissed back just as fiercely. I laid down on top of her with our tongues interlocking, Luana then quickly covered both of us with the blanket and we soon made love to each other for a while. I enjoyed every second, and I was certain Luana did too, especially since we were both panting a lot as we tried to regain our breath.

"T-that…that was amazing…it's always fun being so close to you, especially just now…" Luana said as she nuzzled me.

"I know what you mean, I adore being next to you, you were really great, just like last time." I said as I kissed Luana's cheek while she giggled.

"Really? Well that's something that I don't mind hearing. It's a good thing we didn't make a mess this time." Luana said as I chuckled.

Luana and I snuggled next to each other for a few extra minutes and afterwards, we both got off the bed and headed outside.

When we exited the bedroom, we immediately went to the cafeteria for some dinner. Upon entering, we noticed that it was a bit dark and saw several dark clouds very close to the Ranger Union. Luana and I got our bowls and took out some vegetable soup with some bread along with some water and ate our food, finishing it after a few minutes while we drank our water. We went ahead and put the bowls in the area to be washed and exited the cafeteria. After we were about to head upstairs, we heard heavy rain followed by thunder, with the electricity going out soon after.

"Uh-oh…hopefully the Ranger Union has a generator. If they don't then we can get Pachirisu and Raichu to get the power back on in some way." I said.

"Good idea, let's see where Chairperson Erma is and try to find a solution to this power outage!" Luana said.

"Exactly! I just hope nowhere else is impacted like we are. Most of the residents in the towns and cities don't have any Electric types to help them out!" I said.

"Hmm, that is very true. When we're done seeing what the issue is, we can ask Chairperson Erma if any other residents have a loss of power!" Luana said as I wrapped my arm around her.

"That'll work, now all we have to do is make our way upstairs!" I said.

Luana held me a bit closer while we used the brief flashes of lightning to find our way to the escalator and carefully walked up to the Operator's Room, seeing that some small backup lights were on, but nothing else was, which made it difficult to see. However, we did notice Chairperson Erma sitting down on a chair as she had a flashlight on as she quickly walked over to us.

"Hello dearies, sorry about the power outage, the Almia Electric Company is going to get power restored to the Ranger Union and Pueltown shortly." Chairperson Erma said as another roar of thunder echoed.

"Not a problem Chairperson Erma, we wanted to make sure that you and everyone were doing okay. Luana and I were going to ask you something, but we can tell you once the power's restored if you'd like." I said.

"Kellyn, you and Luana are more than welcome to ask anything of me, plus the power's going to be restored soon. Please, go right ahead and ask." Chairperson Erma said.

"Thank you ma'am, we were going to ask if we can finish up the rest of the quests we haven't done, since it's important for us to address the needs of the citizens. It's not a big deal if there are other things we need to do, but I figured that Luana and I would ask because we enjoy doing them." I said.

"Of course you two can do so! There's no need to ask, please go right ahead, I think that the two of you need a more relaxing workday compared to all the work you've done recently!" Chairperson Erma said.

"Thank you so much, we really appreciate it! We'll make sure to finish up the quests and help out any citizens in need!" Luana said.

"Good, please don't work yourselves too hard, you've all been doing exceptional work, even more than usual!" Chairperson Erma said.

"We'll try our best to be careful, we'll be going now, thanks Chairperson Erma!" I said as we headed downstairs to the lobby.


	50. Chapter 50: Helping out!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!**

**A/N: Another filler chapter due to the story wrapping up!**

Chapter 50: Helping out!

Luana and I walked down Union Road, admiring the scenery of flowers as we walked along the wet grass. We eventually made our way to Pueltown and were relieved that the area didn't suffer much damage aside from a few shingles and broken branches, which we put in the recycling bin to be picked up later, other than the small damage, there wasn't any serious damage to see.

"Hmm, it looks like everything here is fine. Let's do a patrol around the area to make sure that no one needs our help!" I said as Luana nodded.

Luana and I patrolled around Pueltown, trying to see if there were any areas without power, or if any citizens needed our help. After patrolling for several minutes, I decided to check my Styler and see if any quests needed to be done and noticed that there were two of them available for us to do along with some information about them, which I would read to Luana.

"Hm? What's up Kellyn, is there a quest for us?" Luana asked as she put her arm around me.

"Even better, we got two of them for us! One of them has a citizen trying to get his lunch back from a Pokémon, he'll provide more details once we meet him by the entrance of Vien Forest from Pueltown's side. Ready to go?" I asked.

"I am! Let's go help him out!" Luana said.

We both headed over to the Vien Forest entrance and reached there within no time as we saw a young guy waving to us. When we approached him, he breathed a sigh of relief and immediately shook our hands, appearing a bit nervous.

"I'm glad that you two Rangers are here! As you saw on my quest, my lunch was stolen, the Pokémon that took it was a Vileplume. It was last seen heading towards the Vientown forest entrance. Please find it before my lunch is completely eaten!" The man said.

"No worries, we'll do our best to find the Vileplume, there aren't too many of them in the Vien Forest anyhow. We'll be on our way!" I said as we both headed into the forest.

"Poor guy, hopefully we find his lunch before the Vileplume eats it all, maybe it wanted some company and decided to get the man's attention by taking his food?" Luana said.

"That could be a possibility, let's make sure the Vileplume doesn't eat all of his lunch, I don't think he'd be too happy if that happened!" I said as Luana and I jogged through the forest.

After jogging for a few minutes, we saw the Vileplume holding a container of food in its hands, once it saw us, it immediately took off. Luana and I chased after it and I did my best to draw loops around it as it ran away from us. As we continued running after the Pokémon, we both picked up speed while I made some loops around it, eventually managing to capture the Vileplume as it stopped running. The Vileplume turned around and put the container down gently, appearing to be sad, while it had bits of Oran berry around its mouth, which I wiped off.

"Aw, Vileplume, don't be sad, you were just hungry, it isn't your fault. We'll take the container of food from you and in exchange, we'll give you some berries to eat, how's that sound?" I asked as the Vileplume jumped up and down.

"Alright, let's go get some berries! There should be some nearby here, let's make sure we're not taking anything from the Pokémon around here." Luana said as I nodded while we both looked around in the bushes and trees for any berries.

After searching for a few minutes, Luana and I found a couple of Figy, Oran, and Sitrus berries and made sure they didn't belong to any nearby Pokémon. We then brought the berries back to the Vileplume and handed the Figy and Sitrus berries to the Vileplume, while we put the Oran berries on top of the food container. The Vileplume happily ate the berries and as it did so, Luana picked up the food container while the Vileplume followed. Luana and I headed back to where the man was and he immediately look relieved once he saw us.

"Ah, you two are back rather quickly! So, this is the fast Vileplume that took my lunch huh?" The man said.

"Yes sir, that's right. Vileplume immediately ran once it spotted us, it had some pieces of Oran berry around its mouth." Luana said.

"Oh wow…you must have been really hungry Vileplume. Don't worry though, I'm not mad, we can share this lunch together! Thank you so much for the help Rangers, I would have never known about how hungry this Vileplume was if I didn't have you two chase after it!" The man said as he and the Vileplume sat down.

"Not a problem, I hope you two enjoy those berries!" I said as the man smiled.

"We certainly will, thanks once again!" The man said as Luana and I waved goodbye.

We went to the main part of Pueltown and I checked my Styler as I noticed that it was 7:20 P.M., as well as the fact that we had another quest available to us.

"Awesome work Luana, we got another quest to do! This one involves us investigating the Altru Tower, an employee there said that she spotted someone lurking around the entrance only a few minutes ago. I don't know how dangerous they're going to be, but we have to hurry before they leave the area!" I said as we both raced to the tower.

Luana and I reached the Altru Tower within minutes, spotting an employee by the base of the small steps on the bridge, clearly shaken.

"Ma'am, please tell us where you saw this individual and describe him for us." I said as I looked around for any signs of the man.

"Okay, he had on dark gray clothes, black shoes, and was around the entrance earlier. That's all I know, I'm sorry." The employee said.

"Not a problem, one of us can either accompany you home or stay with you here for safety. Which do you prefer?" Luana asked.

"I'd like to stay here…I'm worried that the guy could try seeing where I live." The employee said.

"Not a problem, Luana, you or me can stay behind if you prefer. Tell me what you'd like to do." I said as I continued looking around for any signs of the man.

"Don't worry Kellyn, I'll keep this lady company, be careful!" Luana said.

I nodded and headed off to find the man, who was most likely dangerous considering what he was wearing at this time, which certainly made him seem like a burglar. I spent some time looking around half of the building entrance, due to the fact that the back half was completely covered up. I entered the building itself and immediately noticed a door to the right of the elevator, it was ajar and I walked up to it, opening it slowly since I didn't know if the burglar was just about to leave. When I looked into the next room, I noticed several cabinets and saw someone hunched over, wearing the exact clothing the employee described.

Despite not making a sound, the man noticed me and was extremely surprised seeing me about to enter the room. He anxiously looked around for an exit and I used this opportunity to tackle him, knocking him to the ground as he tried struggling with me, though I was able to restrain him with zip ties. I checked the man for anything that he may have stolen and I wasn't able to find anything like files or other documents, after checking once more, I then took him out of Altru Tower.

I made my way back to Luana and the employee, with both of them looking relieved that I caught the intruder. I immediately got on my Styler and called Marcus, who picked up right away.

"Hi guys, what can I help you two with?" Marcus asked.

"Hello Marcus, we were going to let you know that we found an intruder at the Altru Tower and we're going to bring him in." I said.

"Oh, nice job! Don't worry about that, two Rangers are in the area and they'll be taking him in. Once you two finish the other quest, you can come back, since it'll be getting a bit late. If you guys need anything, let me know, bye!" Marcus said.

"Thanks for letting us know, bye Marcus!" I said as I hanged up.

Two Rangers walked up to us in no time, and took the man away quickly, leaving Luana, me and the employee by the tower's small bridge.

"Thank you so much for catching that man, I knew it would have been dangerous to try catching him myself, so I decided asking for a Ranger's help would be a good idea." The employee said.

"That was definitely the right choice, he could have easily had a weapon or a Pokémon at the ready to attack anyone with. Do you need any help getting home?" Luana asked.

"No thank you, I'll be fine. Thanks for the help!" The employee said as she waved to us and headed off towards her home.

"Nice work Kellyn, that guy probably didn't expect you to be there at all, huh?" Luana said.

"Yeah, he was extremely shocked, he looked as if he saw a Gengar! He tried leaving the same way he entered and attempted to get past me, but since I was in the way, that really didn't work. Would you like to do the other quest for today? I'm up for it if you are!" I said.

"Sure! Let me go ahead and check the details of the next quest…okay, there's a girl who needs our help in the Chroma Highlands. The information details that a boulder has collapsed somewhere in that area and it's preventing some young Aipom from leaving their home. She'll provide us with more information once we meet up with her by the log cabin." Luana said.

"Uh-oh, let's hurry then!" I said as Luana and I made our way to the log cabin, spotting the girl sitting down on a log, looking around anxiously until she saw us.

"Hello there Rangers, I hope you two can help me out with my quest! I was walking home just now and I heard some Aipom crying out for help. When I turned to their pleas for help, I saw a large boulder blocking a small pathway about halfway through the unelevated area. Can you two help?" The girl asked.

"Of course we can, we'll be more than happy to! Are you going to be okay by yourself?" Luana asked.

"I will, don't worry, the Pokémon around here are friendly, plus the only people I see around here are the guards and Rangers!" The girl said.

"Good, please be careful regardless. We'll be back soon!" I said as we headed towards the area, spotting a small alcove being blocked off by a gigantic boulder while we heard Aipom crying.

"Those poor Aipom…we need a Pokémon that can smash this boulder into nothing, but most of the Pokémon in Almia are asleep now. I remember there being a Bastiodon in this area, do you think there are any other Pokémon that might not be asleep at this point?" Luana asked as I looked around the area.

"When I think about it, the only Pokémon that would be awake at this time would be the Bastiodon. However, if we look around the area and found out that all of the Pokémon are asleep, then the only thing we'll have to do is use brute strength to move the boulder, or simply crush it, whichever is easier. I remember you punching that boulder in the Boyle Volcano and turning it to little pebbles." I said as Luana smirked.

"That sounds like a plan to me, let's go look around for the Bastiodon, it shouldn't take long given the wide open space!" Luana said as we searched for the Pokémon.

After several minutes of looking around and dodging some Skarmory, we eventually spotted the Bastiodon walking slowly on the upper level where the cave entrance was. When the Pokémon noticed me, it lumbered over again and I used this opportunity to catch it once more, especially since this Bastiodon was the same one from before, as it didn't even attack once or attempt to ram me. I made some loops around the Pokémon and captured it, with Luana and I taking it to the same boulder where the Aipom were trapped.

"Bastiodon, clear this boulder for us, some Aipom are trapped!" I said as Bastiodon used Headbutt, smashing the boulder into bits as the Aipom quickly came outside.

The Aipom were of course, thrilled to be rescued, and all four of them jumped on me and Luana, while we spotted two Ambipom hopping towards us. We thanked the Bastiodon for its help as it cheerfully walked away, while Luana and I gently put the Aipom on the ground, who ran over to their parents.

The Ambipom and their kids hugged us for a few seconds and afterwards, the entire group headed in the same direction the Bastiodon did. Luana and I went back to the log cabin where the girl was still sitting down, and she smiled when she saw us approaching.

"Hi Rangers, how did the quest go?" The girl asked.

"Hello, it went well, the Aipom were rescued thanks to a Bastiodon we captured. They left only a few moments ago with their parents." Luana said.

"Woah that's great! Thanks so much for helping out those Pokémon, I know that I certainly wouldn't have been able to do anything!" The girl said.

"Not a problem, that's why we're Rangers! Are you going to have any trouble getting home?" I asked.

"I'll be okay, thanks once again!" The girl said as she waved and got up, quickly running towards Pueltown.

"Nice, another quest finished!" I said as Luana and I headed back the same way.

We were able to reach Pueltown within minutes and I quickly checked my Styler to confirm that both quests were finished.

"Wow Kellyn, you and I are doing great, only thirteen more quests to go!" Luana said.

"Yeah, I love doing these quests, especially with the one we just did, I'm glad that girl was walking by and the fact that we accepted that quest was a good thing too, otherwise those little Aipom would have gone the whole night without food or proper sleep." I said.

"That's a good point, they were so happy to be out of that little alcove too. Are you ready to head back to the Ranger Union now?" Luana asked.

"Sure, let me just check what time it is…7:50 P.M., not too late actually. We did the quests and patrolled around Pueltown, let's go ahead and head back!" I said as Luana and I interlocked arms.

Walking through Union Road made me feel relaxed, especially when considering some of the other times where things were more serious, such as when Luana and I encountered Wendy and Sven brutally beaten here, or on a bit of a lighthearted note, when that Ranger tried scaring us with a mask, which did work on frightening me a bit. I definitely think that one of the main reasons I don't feel scared walking through here is because of Luana being by my side, otherwise, I'd probably have to run through here every single night.

"Kellyn, you look deep in thought, is something the matter?" Luana asked.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about how much you've helped me out by staying by my side, such as dealing with the problems we've faced on Union Road." I said as Luana smiled from having understood me, just like she always has.

"It's not a problem Kellyn, I would do anything for you, and that's certainly something that I would never mind doing. A relationship needs to have compassion and understanding for one another, otherwise, it won't be the most loving relationship and it'll just end in sadness." Luana said.

"I see what you mean, that makes a lot of sense. A relationship needs to have compromise as well as being able to speak one's thoughts, I think that the four things we mentioned are some of the crucial parts that can make a relationship work." I said as Luana nodded.

"I agree, there's quite a number of other things as well, but our relationship works out really well! Oh look, there's the Ranger Union, we should hurry inside, we can get a snack and then head to sleep!" Luana said as we both entered the Ranger Union within a few minutes.

Luana and I both went up the escalator leading to the second floor and quickly went to the cafeteria. As we entered, we saw there were some Sitrus berries in a small basket and we took two each, making sure not to make any noise to disrupt anyone. After that, Luana and I quickly headed outside of the cafeteria, going back downstairs with our Sitrus berries in our pockets as we made it to our bedroom door, which I opened, allowing Luana to enter first. After we both entered, I closed the door and took off my shoes. When I finished with that, I then sat on the bed next to Luana and quickly ate my berry.

"Whew, that was good. I was pretty hungry, but I'm all better now. Thanks Luana!" I said as Luana smiled.

"Yeah, it did taste pretty good, but don't worry Kellyn, that'll hold us until morning." Luana said.

"Good, it'll be nice to have some breakfast tomorrow. I'm feeling a bit tired though, I'm thinking about going to bed and then we can do more quests in the morning or the afternoon. Maybe we can do the quests with Sven and Wendy if you'd like. How does that sound?" I asked.

"That'll be fun! Doing quests with them would be really awesome, hopefully we'll be busy tomorrow helping out citizens!" Luana said.

"I know, it'll also be good if those Rangers can find out where the Shadow Crystal is." I said as Luana quickly changed into her pajamas, while I did the same.

I took the light off once Luana went on the bed and then went ahead and joined her, with the both of us covering up underneath the blanket as we snuggled close to each other.

"Today was a great day, good night Kellyn, love you." Luana said.

"Yeah, I had a lot of fun today, good night Luana, I love you too." I said as Luana and I kissed each other goodnight, as I soon drifted off to sleep.

I woke up the next morning and saw Luana next to me, rubbing her eyes as she slowly sat up while I did the same.

"Good morning Luana, did you sleep well?" I asked.

"Good morning Kellyn, I had a good rest, are you ready to do some quests today?" Luana asked.

"I am, let me go ahead and get ready, I won't take too long!" I said as I took out my uniform from the dresser and headed into the bathroom.

After I got myself ready for the day, I left the bathroom so Luana could enter, which she quickly did after I made sure my uniform was clean. Luana then exited the bathroom after several minutes, looking very happy as usual as she walked up to me.

"Ready to go?" Luana asked as we both fixed up our bed.

"Yup, all ready to go! Let's go see if Sven and Wendy are awake yet!" I said as I checked my Styler, seeing that it was 10:29 A.M.

"Hm, that's strange Marcus never sent us our Power-Up Data from the two quests we did...maybe he went to bed early or was out on a date." I said.

"You're right…that is a bit odd, it's possible that he was helping out other Rangers. Knowing Marcus, he'll be fine, he may have simply forgotten to do it before going to bed after helping out everyone." Luana said.

"That could also be what happened, either way, we'll make sure Marcus is okay and then get the Power-Up Data!" I said as Luana nodded.

Luana and I put on our shoes and exited the bedroom, with the both of us heading over to Sven and Wendy's room. We knocked on the door and they didn't respond after we waited for a few minutes, so we both decided to head upstairs to the cafeteria, especially since I was getting a bit hungry.

As we entered the cafeteria, Luana and I spotted Sven and Wendy sitting down by one of the tables. They didn't have any plates or cups on the table and the both of them appeared deep in thought about something. Sven noticed us and waved for Luana and I to come over, which we both did as we sat down.

"Hi guys, good morning, how are you two doing?" Sven asked.

"We're good, you guys are looking pretty happy today!" I said as Wendy and Sven grinned.

"We certainly are, we got a lot of quests to do today, and that'll be really fun to do! Would you guys like to do some quests with us?" Wendy asked.

"Of course, that's a great idea! We were actually thinking of asking the two of you if you were interested in joining us today!" Luana said.

"Yeah, we'd like that, especially since we haven't done quests as a group for a while! Wendy and I were just about to get some breakfast. Did you two get a quick breakfast yet?" Sven asked.

"No we haven't eaten anything today, let's go get something to eat!" I said as we all got up and headed over to the food area.

We all got plates, forks and cups and put everything on trays, afterwards, Luana and I took ten pancakes and some syrup along with two Oran berries and some water. After that, all of us sat down and got ready to eat, especially since this breakfast would keep us full for a while. Luana and I put syrup on our pancakes while Sven and Wendy looked wide-eyed at us, which made the both of us chuckle as we ate with them. A few minutes later, we finished eating while we patiently waited for Sven and Wendy, who finished after some time.

"That was delicious, I feel really full now!" I said.

"Good, you guys are going to need the energy for today! We still get surprised seeing you guys eat all of that food like it's nothing! It's really impressive!" Sven said.

"Hahah, yeah, sometimes it surprises us with how much we eat sometimes! We can go ahead and head out after we check-in with Chairperson Erma." Luana said.

"Sure, that'll work, let's go!" Wendy said as we put our trays and other things to be washed while we headed out of the cafeteria and went to the Operator's Room.

When we went to the third floor, we spotted Chairperson Erma in her usual spot along with Marcus, who was preoccupied with fixing something on his monitor. As we approached Chairperson Erma, she smiled warmly as usual.

"Hello Chairperson Erma, good morning! We just wanted to check in and see if there was anything for us to do in the meantime before we go and do some quests." Luana said.

"Good morning to you too dearie. The four of you work hard as it is, there isn't anything that I need any of you to do now. Keep up the great work!" Chairperson Erma said.

"Thanks, we'll go ahead and help out citizens in need! We'll just need to talk with Marcus really quick!" I said as Luana and I approached Marcus, who quickly turned around when he heard us approaching.

"Ah, Kellyn, Luana, sorry about not giving you guys the Power-Up Data, I was really exhausted and headed to bed early." Marcus said.

"No worries Marcus, just give us the Power- Up Data whenever you can!" I said as Marcus smiled.

"Thanks for understanding, I'll give you guys the Power-Up Data in a few minutes." Marcus said.

"Awesome, sounds good to us, we'll be back later Marcus!" Luana said as we waved and headed out of the building.

Luana and I soon got the Power-Up Data, two of them for each quest. The four of them lessened damage from Water, Electric, Ice and Grass attacks by three each, which was really helpful considering that every other quest gave one Power-Up Data that lessened damage from a Pokémon type.

"Sven, Wendy, look at how cool this is, the last quests that Luana and I did gave us four different types of Power-Up Data. I was a bit surprised since I assumed that the quests would have one Power-Up Data as a reward." I said.

"Woah, that's awesome! The last quest Wendy and I did the other day gave us two types of Power-Up Data as well. It'll help us take quite a bit less damage from Pokémon attacks, so to get two of the same or different types from one quest alone is really great!" Sven said.

"I agree, it'll really come in handy since Team Dim Sun can be anywhere these days and the way they control Pokémon to be as vicious as possible certainly doesn't make things easy for us." Luana said as we all nodded and continued walking through Union Road.

We soon made our way to Pueltown and I checked my Styler to see what quests were available. I discovered that there were six of them to do, which intrigued me, especially since these were all quests that were deemed to be official Ranger Union quests for Power-Up Data.

"Wow…that's a lot of quests, let me go ahead and see what the first one says…okay, so a helicopter pilot at the Pueltown clinic has some Ariados blocking off his access to the helicopter and he also says that they're even more aggressive than Ariados tend to be." Sven said.

"Let's get going quickly then! I know where the clinic is!" I said as everyone followed me to the clinic, which was near the main part of town.

All of us immediately went to the reception counter upon entering the clinic and were greeted by a smiling receptionist. Even though we were Top Rangers, we wouldn't just head up to the roof, especially because of how a number of the Ranger Union staff were impersonated the other day, which meant an increase in security for most buildings as they were put on high alert.

"Hello there, how can I help you?" The receptionist asked.

"Hi there, we're here to help out a helicopter pilot on the roof, here's my identification." I said as I showed the woman my Ranger card, while Luana, Sven and Wendy did the same.

"Perfect! Thanks for showing me your identification. I'll go ahead and unlock the roof's door from here." The receptionist said as we all followed the signs to where the roof was.

After going up ten floors, we reached the roof of the hospital and I opened the door. As we stepped out to the roof, we saw the helicopter pilot run up to us, understandably distressed. I glanced over at the helipad where the helicopter was and saw six Ariados, poised to attack anyone who got close.

"Hello Rangers, thank you for coming to my rescue. Be careful of those Ariados, they tried attacking me with Poison Sting when I tried to get them away from the helicopter." The pilot said as I noticed several purple spikes embedded into the ground.

"No worries sir, we're going to do our best. Guys, let's try to get a few Ariados clustered together so we can capture them without them attempting to attack us or the pilot." I said as everyone nodded and got into position, while the pilot opened the door and hid in the doorway.

Each of us immediately began making loops around the Ariados, who quickly became agitated and launched a combination of String Shot and Poison Sting at us. I was able to dodge the Poison Sting, but the String Shot wrapped around Luana's legs and made her start to fall, though I acted quickly and caught her with my arm, while I used my other arm to remove the silk from her. Wendy and Sven already captured two of the Ariados, which stopped attacking right away, though the other four used String Shot once more, which we all managed to dodge. I went ahead and captured two of the Ariados after making some loops around them, while also avoiding their Poison Sting, which barely missed my leg.

I continued making loops around the Pokémon, which tried launching more String Shots and Poison Stings, missing the four of us each time. Luana captured one of the Ariados while I did the same as the six Ariados calmed down and were no longer volatile. The Pokémon then went to the edge of the helipad and climbed down the building, all of us breathed a sigh of relief afterwards, and I gently knocked on the door so the helicopter pilot knew it was safe to come out.

"Those Ariados…they're gone now right? I still feel myself shuddering when I see those terrifying color schemes along with their attacks. Such a scary Pokémon…" The pilot said.

_'__Yeah, those Ariados were dangerous…it would have been awful if they hurt us, the pilot, or even managed to get into the hospital itself. I'm glad that my parents, the patients, doctors and other staff here are safe. It would have been even worse if mom or dad got hurt because of the aggressive nature of these Ariados. I'm glad that everyone's okay.' _I thought to myself.

"Yeah…I was really taken aback by how ferocious they were…" Wendy said.

"I agree, Pokémon almost never act that way before. No need to worry though, those Ariados have been captured and have calmed down now." I said as the pilot smiled.

"Oh thank you so much, I suspect those Team Dim Sun thugs had something to do with it, though I don't see them anywhere. Either way, thank you all so much for the help!" The pilot said.

"Not a problem, we're glad we could help you out!" Sven said as we all headed back downstairs to the lobby and exited the clinic.

"Man…that quest was extremely hectic, more so than I thought it would be." Wendy said.

"Yeah, that was something else…that helicopter pilot was right though, something about those Ariados were unusually aggressive. The way they aimed for all of us was similar to how mind-controlled Team Dim Sun Pokémon would act, yet I didn't see any of those grunts around." I said.

"You're right, it's really strange…the good thing is that the pilot as well as ourselves are okay! You guys up for the next quest?" Sven asked.

"I certainly am, mind if I read the second quest?" I asked.

"Go right ahead Kellyn!" Sven said as I checked my Styler.

"Hmm, let's see…the next quest says that a Ranger lost his Styler. He'll be located in the main area of Pueltown by a small flower shop." I said as we all jogged over to where the Ranger would be.

Eventually, we spotted the Ranger near a small flower shop sitting down on a bench, clearly distraught. When we approached him, he waved to us, looking a bit more relieved once he noticed us.

"Hi there Top Rangers, it's awesome to meet you guys! My name's Russ and I'm an Area Ranger." Russ said as we all took turns and shook his hand.

"Hello Russ, nice to meet you! Please tell us about your Styler and where you last remember it being on you before it was misplaced." I said as Russ appeared to be quite nervous.

"Are you okay Russ? We're not going to bite you!" Luana said as Russ sighed.

"Well…I didn't lose my Styler…I was walking in Vien Forest when a Team Dim Sun grunt ambushed me and stole my Styler, he was way too fast for me. However, he did mutter something about the Vien Forest being such a pain for him to get out of, maybe he's still there." Russ said.

"He could be, we'll look for him, don't worry!" Wendy said as we all went over to Vien Forest.

"Okay, I'm thinking of a plan. What if we split into our usual pairs instead of going individually? Does that sound good?" I asked as everyone nodded.

"It does, while it's great that we're all travelling as a group today, splitting into pairs would cover more ground and help us find the grunt quicker." Sven said.

"That's right, let's be careful guys." I said as everyone nodded.

Luana and I went through the forest and spent several minutes checking each of the dead ends, as well as in the trees to determine if the grunt was hiding up there. No matter where we looked or how long we searched, Luana and I were unable to find the grunt. I decided to call Sven on my Styler and see if they were having trouble just like us.

"Hi Sven, how are you and Wendy doing? Have you guys possibly spotted the grunt anywhere?" I asked as Luana and I observed our surroundings.

"Hello Kellyn, we're doing alright, we haven't seen the grunt at all…where do you think he could be? Maybe he's out of the forest?" Sven said.

"That could very well be possible…I feel bad for this Ranger, I was hoping that we would be able to find his Styler in time. I'm worried about what the grunt would do…maybe we can call one of the Top Operators and have them locate it." I said.

"That's a good idea, Wendy and I will give Linda a call to see if she can locate the Styler." Sven said.

"Awesome, we'll try looking for the grunt in the meantime, it's possible that he's hiding or perhaps even in plain sight waiting to ambush us. Thanks for the help Sven." I said.

"Not a problem you guys, we'll do anything we can to help you two out." Sven said.

"Thank you, how far are you guys from near the center of the forest?" I asked.

"We're not that far actually, in fact, we're kind of close to you guys right now. We'll go ahead and call Linda and then get back to you guys. Bye for now!" Sven said.

"Bye Sven, be careful!" I said as Sven hanged up.

Luana and I looked around the area for a few minutes and were trying to think of where the grunt could be hiding. I observed how charred the grass looked in this area and became frustrated, remembering how Team Dim Sun tricked Ollie into doing their work for them. After a few seconds, my Styler started to ring and I immediately answered as Luana walked over to me.

"Kellyn, we found the grunt, Wendy and I have him cornered by entrance to Pueltown!" Sven said.

"Great, we're on our way!" I said as I hanged up while Luana and I jogged over to where Sven and Wendy were.

After jogging for some time, we spotted Sven and Wendy, both doing their best to corner the grunt, who was in the middle of them, looking for a way to escape with the Styler that was in his hand.

_"__Man, Team Dim Sun doesn't give up no matter what they do. Well, that's alright, the four of us are going to apprehend this grunt.' _I thought to myself as we all got closer to the grunt.

Once the grunt spotted Luana and I near Sven, he reacted by throwing the Styler at Wendy who caught it, while he ended up running straight into me as I restrained him. After a brief struggle, he eventually gave up on trying to break free.

"Great work guys, you two found him quickly!" I said as Sven and Wendy grinned.

"You bet we did, it was really difficult to find him at first, especially because every time we spotted him, he'd just run off again." Wendy said.

"Well it's a good thing you guys cornered him and we got the Styler back too!" I said.

"That's true, now Russ won't need to worry about losing his Styler. Let's go ahead and call Linda for a Staraptor." Sven said as he called Linda, who picked up right away.

"Hi guys, did you need something? How can I help?" Linda asked.

"Hello Linda, we need a Staraptor to pick up this Team Dim Sun grunt who stole a Ranger's Styler." Sven said.

"Not a problem guys, I'll have a Staraptor sent right away, see you guys later!" Linda said.

"Thanks Linda, bye!" Sven said as he hanged up.

"Well, it won't be long until this guy's picked up. What did you want with that Ranger's Styler anyway? Were you planning to capture Pokémon of your own and use them side by side with the Pokémon Team Dim Sun would be controlling?" Wendy asked as the grunt stayed silent.

"Hm, well, he's not much of a talker, that's okay, the Staraptor is going to be picking him up soon." I said as I saw the Staraptor making its way towards us.

Staraptor soon landed on the ground, and Luana and I securely strapped the grunt in so he wouldn't think about escaping. After we made sure the grunt was unarmed once more, we let the Staraptor know that it could leave with the grunt whenever it wanted to, and it nodded, flying off shortly afterwards.

"Nice job guys, let's go ahead and return this Styler to Russ, he won't have to worry about it being missing anymore!" I said as we all headed back to where Russ was.

Russ was understandably distraught as we approached him, though he soon became relieved as he saw the Styler.

"No worries Russ, we got your Styler back and the grunt is going to be at the Ranger Union soon, if not already. Here you go!" I said as Wendy handed Russ his Styler, which made him extremely happy as he fiddled with it joyfully.

"Wow, you guys are the best, thank you so much!" Russ said.

"No worries, we're all glad that your Styler is back to its rightful owner." I said as Russ grinned.

"This is so great, I was so scared my Styler would be gone and then I would have to wonder what happened to it. How can I repay you guys?" Russ asked.

"No need, we're glad to help you out!" I said.

"Man…you guys are so cool…thanks again for the help everyone!" Russ said as he shook our hands and went towards Pueltown.

"That was nice, he looked so happy to get his Styler back! It's a good thing you guys caught the grunt before he escaped!" Luana said.

"Yeah, I'm glad that he also won't worry about his Styler going missing! Guys, is it alright if I can read the third quest?" Wendy asked as we all nodded.

"Of course, feel free to do so!" Luana said as Wendy opened her mouth to speak, though Luana and Sven's Stylers started to ring, which they both quickly answered, seeing as it had to be Marcus.

"Hi Luana, you and Kellyn are doing great work like usual, I'll send you guys the Power-Up Data. You guys only got eleven official Ranger Union quests to go! Bye!" Marcus said.

"Thanks Marcus, we're doing our best like always, bye!" Luana said as she hanged up.

"Yes Linda, we just did two quests with Kellyn and Luana. You'll send us the Power-Up Data soon? Thanks!" Sven said as he hanged up.

"Well that sounds like good news to me. I always love doing these quests, not for the Power-Up Data, but rather for helping out citizens and Pokémon in need. It makes me feel good, you know?" I said.

"I know what you mean, it's always nice to help out others, especially with Team Dim Sun being such a bother to everyone." Luana said.

"Definitely, it's always a good feeling when we help a citizen find their missing Pokémon especially, it's nice to see a smile on their face." Sven said.

"Yeah, I can't even imagine how distraught they must have been feeling before they got a Ranger to help them. Would you guys like to go ahead and see what the next quest needs us to do? It's an interesting one." Wendy said.

"We're all ears, go right ahead!" I said.

"Awesome! This quest needs us to help an elderly couple with moving! They'll be around Pueltown's business district sitting down on a bench!" Wendy said as we all looked at her.

"Well…that certainly is…different. Let's go and see how we can help them out!" Sven said.

All of us went over to Pueltown's business section, which had a couple of the restaurants and other small businesses Luana and I had previously been to before, though of course, there were dozens of other businesses here aside from the ones we knew about. We continued walking around the area and eventually noticed an elderly couple sitting down on a bench by a few shops.


	51. Chapter 51: Suspicions

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!**

Chapter 51: Suspicions

"It's always nice to see wonderful Top Rangers making such a difference with patrolling the communities. My name's Brendan and this is my wife, Victoria!" Brendan said as we shook both of their hands.

"It's very good to meet you, my name's Wendy and this is my partner Sven." Wendy said.

"I'm Kellyn and she's my partner, Luana!" I said as Bernard and Victoria smiled.

"It's wonderful to meet all of you, thank you very much for accepting our quest! It really means a lot to us!" Victoria said.

"It's not a problem at all, your quest mentioned something about you two needing some help with moving. Where are the boxes?" Wendy asked as the happy couple laughed.

"Well, it's funny you say that, my wife and I would like to have the help of you lovely Rangers with moving us!" Brendan said as we all briefly looked at each other.

"That's the first time anyone's need our help with moving them! Not to worry, we'll be more than happy to help!" I said as Brendan and Victoria both smiled.

"It certainly is a strange request, we don't have any back or heart problems but our legs have started giving us very bad issues recently. Look at this for instance." Victoria said as she tried standing up, only to nearly end up falling forward before I caught her.

"Woah, ma'am! Please be careful, we'll do the best we can to help you two out! Would you like us to take you to Pueltown's clinic?" I asked.

"Yes, please do, I'm glad that we decided to submit that quest, our legs aren't what they used to be. You're all such lovely people, thank you for this!" Brendan said as I carried him, while Luana did the same with Victoria.

"It's not a problem, anything to help out members of the community!" Luana said as we all headed to Pueltown Clinic.

Wendy and Sven opened the doors for us as we helped Brendan and Victoria inside. Luana and I got a few odd looks from some of the people that were there, aside from the receptionist who was the same woman from before. As we approached her, she smiled right away since she recognized us and the elderly couple.

"Hello there everyone, good to see all of you. Hi there Bernard and Victoria, I take it you two are headed to your usual doctor?" The receptionist asked.

"Hi there Barbara, nice to see you again. We were going to meet our doctor today, but our legs started to pain us horribly so, these Rangers were amazing and helped us out quickly." Victoria said.

"Perfect, now's only 12:06 P.M., so he shouldn't be with any other patients at the moment. Rangers, please take Bernard and Victoria to the second floor, there's going to be a lab on the left hand side." Barbara said.

"Not a problem, we're on it!" I said as we entered the elevator.

We soon reached the second floor and walked over to the lab that was right by the elevator.

"Thank you for helping us all the way here, we've always appreciated the great work the Rangers have done. It must have certainly been a very strange quest for the group of you!" Bernard said as I chuckled.

"We don't mind helping anyone in their time of need, it was a…different quest to say the least, but it wasn't dangerous like some of our other ones, so we definitely enjoyed it!" I said.

"We're glad to hear that. We've heard about the great things the four of you have done, you have our thanks." Victoria said as the lab door opened.

"Ah hello Victoria and Bernard, glad to see you two. Looks like your legs are giving you some serious issues, I'll go ahead and scan them and the both of you are going to stay here for the night. Is that alright with you two?" The doctor asked as he got out two hospital beds.

"Hello Dr. Ferdinand, that's certainly okay with us, Kellyn, Luana, Wendy and Sven, thank you all so much for the help. We'll be fine from now on, don't worry about us too much!" Bernard said with a chuckle as we gently laid Bernard and Victoria down on the beds.

"You're very welcome, I hope you two make a quick recovery!" I said.

"Oh don't you fret, we will, we're sixty two years old, we've been through worse!" Victoria said.

"Wow, you two are certainly very hardy! Best of luck!" Luana said as we all exchanged goodbyes and headed downstairs, saying goodbye to Barbara before exiting the clinic.

"That was a quick quest, I assume that's the first time that you guys ever had to move anyone, huh?" Sven asked.

"That's right, we never did that before, but I didn't mind, they were very nice people!" I said.

"Yeah, it was a good change from the usual quests we've done, are you guys up for the next quest?" Luana asked.

"Hmm, maybe we can get some lunch first, I'm getting a bit hungry, are you guys interested?" Wendy asked.

"Sure, that'll be a good idea, do you guys have anywhere in mind?" I asked.

"Hmmm, what if we sit down at a nice cafe for a bit? There's a lot of great options around here!" Sven said.

"A café huh? What do you think Luana, does that sound like something you'll like?" I asked

"You bet! I'm starting to feel a little hungry, so some lunch would be really good around now!" Luana said.

"Sounds like it's a café that we'll on the lookout for! Let's go!" Wendy said as we all looked around for somewhere nice to eat.

For several minutes, the only things in Pueltown's business district that helped us that along the way to a good café were the various shops and stores. I looked around for a nice looking cafe but didn't find anything that I would assume all of us would like. After looking around for a few minutes, we eventually spotted a bustling café filled with people, which made me assume that perhaps the food here was good.

"Ah, we're at our favorite cafe, The Sizzling Torchic!" Sven said.

"It looks nice, this is the place you guys want to eat at?" I asked as everyone nodded.

"You bet it is, let's go in!" Wendy said as we all entered.

Inside of the café was extremely elegant, to the point where I would have assumed it was a five star restaurant judging by the décor. The establishment had a policy where we could simply sit down at any open seats, which made things a bit quicker for us in case we had anything to respond to. Thankfully, there was a large booth that was vacant, and we sat down, looking over the menu for a few minutes as a waitress came over to us.

"Hello Sven and Wendy, good to see you guys back here! I take it that these two are Kellyn and Luana?" The waitress asked.

"Hi there Daisy, you're right, these are our good friends, Kellyn and Luana!" Sven said.

"Hi Kellyn and Luana, it's nice to meet you two!" Daisy said as she shook our hands.

"Hello Daisy, nice to meet you as well!" Luana said.

"Now that we're all acquainted, what would you guys like to order today? Sven, Wendy, are you two going to have the usual?" Daisy asked.

"I'm going to order the usual, Wendy might want something different." Sven said.

"Hmm, I'll have the same thing you're getting Sven!" Wendy said as Daisy wrote down the orders.

"Nice, what will you be having, Luana?" Daisy asked.

"I'll have the grilled vegetable casserole please." Luana said.

"Good choice, what are you, Kellyn?" Daisy asked.

"I'll get the steamed vegetable soup please." I said as Daisy took our menus.

"Awesome! I'll go ahead and get your orders put in." Daisy said as she bowed and headed to the kitchen area.

"This is a pretty great spot you guys go to, I haven't seen here before, is it new?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's about two weeks old, we like coming here since the food is pretty good and it's a nice place to unwind when we're done with quests or patrols." Wendy said as Daisy placed down glasses of water for each of us before quickly leaving once more.

"I bet! It's always nice to have somewhere that you can relax at without being bothered." Luana said.

"Definitely! After we finish eating, we'll do the other quests for today, then maybe we can head back to the Ranger Union once we're done." Sven said.

"That sounds like a good plan, it'll be good to head back to the Ranger Union, maybe we'll need to help them out with something today, hopefully it doesn't involve paperwork." I said.

"Agreed, it'll be nice to help out Chairperson Erma, it must not be easy maintaining such a large organization every day. But you know, it's really fun doing these quests with you guys. It would be boring if we didn't have Ranger partners, it would be really dangerous to do these quests or missions by ourselves, you know?" Wendy said.

"I get what you mean, some of the missions and quests definitely aren't something we could handle by ourselves, such as with the cargo ship." Luana said as our food arrived.

"Here you go, nice and hot. I hope you all enjoy the food!" Daisy said.

Daisy handed Sven and Wendy their food, which was vegetable pasta along with some cheese and then handed Luana and I our food. Daisy bowed once more and a customer called her over for some assistance, so she went rushing over. We all ate our food and finished it after several minutes, feeling full and more energized than before.

"Man, I see why you guys like it here, the food's really good!" I said as Sven smiled.

"You know it! That's why it's our favorite café!" Sven said as Daisy came over.

"Hi everyone, I hope the food was good!" Daisy said as I nodded.

"It certainly was, thank you." Luana said as Daisy smiled.

"I'm glad to hear you two liked it, would any of you like anything else today?" Daisy asked.

"You guys want anything?" Sven asked as we all shook our heads.

"Alright, that was a nice and quick lunch! We'll just like the bill please." Wendy said as Daisy went to the counter before quickly coming back with the check presenter while I took out my wallet.

"Don't you worry Kellyn, we'll pay for the food, it's only two thousand Pokédollars." Sven said.

"Are you guys sure? I'll be happy to pay for it but what if we just all chipped in?" I asked.

"Good idea, let's do that!" Luana said.

We all put an equal amount of money, as well as a two thousand Pokédollar tip before Wendy handed the check presenter back to Daisy, who happily took it. Afterwards, we all exited The Sizzling Torchic as I looked at my Styler, wondering what our next quest would be.

"Woah…this fourth quest is urgent, we need to help the Almia Times newspaper, they're being attacked by Team Dim Sun. Are you guys ready to fight them off?" I asked.

"What?! That's awful, let's go and see what we can do!" Sven said.

"Alright, hopefully we'll be able to resolve their problem! It says here that the Almia Times is located in the main area of town and is a large, three story dark blue building. Let's help them out quickly!" I said as we all sprinted towards the Almia Times office.

We reached the office within minutes and discovered it was being guarded by two grunts at the entrance. They were somewhat hidden due to the cluster of bushes surrounding the newspaper office and were about thirty feet from us, seemingly bored about the job they had since they were writing or drawing something on notepads. Thankfully, there were several bushes by us, which we used to observe the grunts from a distance.

_'__Hm, what can we do…we need to get those guys away from the entrance. There's no telling if they're going to be as aloof as the other grunts or if they're going to be a legitimate threat…it's especially troublesome since there are hostages inside, their safety is of utmost importance.' _I thought to myself.

"Man…how do we get in? We can't just walk up to them…" Sven said.

"What if we got Keith to help us?" Wendy suggested.

"If he comes by himself, there's no telling what these two would do to him. One of us can tell him to come with his Buizel, I just hope neither of them are exhausted. If they're not able to come then I can get a Pokémon to help us out, try calling Keith and see if he picks up please." I said.

Wendy called Keith and after waiting for a few seconds, Keith picked up.

"Hello Wendy, how can I help you?" Keith asked.

"Hi Keith, we have to be quiet because Team Dim Sun grunts are nearby. The office of Almia Times had been taken over by Team Dim Sun. We need you to hurry with your Buizel, there's no telling how many innocents are trapped inside." Wendy said.

"Oh no…I'll be right there!" Keith said as he hanged up.

All of us waited for a few minutes while I continued observing the grunts, who were still preoccupied with their notepads. A few seconds afterwards, we saw them take something out of their pockets and start rushing towards who I assumed was Keith, though they were both knocked back by what appeared to be Water Gun. We all rushed out of the bushes and saw that the person the grunts tried attacking was Keith along with his Buizel. The two grunts were blasted back by whatever move Buizel used and I noticed that the items they took out of their pockets were large knives, which could have done some serious damage, thankfully, these grunts were knocked unconscious from the attack.

"That'll show those grunts, Buizel's Water Gun was enough to do them in. Can I tag along with you guys?" Keith asked.

"Of course, let me look around for any traps that they could have placed." I said as I looked through some of the windows.

I managed to get a look at the front door, and noticed a trap set up where the person opening the door would get a sledgehammer to the chest. I waved everyone else over so they could see and their expressions were understandably terrified of what would have happened if any of us decided to open the door.

"Wow…with a trap that elaborate, it might be safer to go to the building's back door or see if their windows are set up with traps. Do you see anything Kellyn?" Luana asked as I looked around each of the windows on the ground floor, spotting nothing that could be a trap.

"Thankfully no, but of course, we'll still have to be very cautious, there could be a few grunts lurking nearby. Let's be careful everyone." I said.

I slowly opened the window to my left, taking caution in doing so and looked around the entirety of the ground floor once more just in case someone was watching me or if there were any traps I may have missed. I found nothing out of the ordinary aside from the boarded up windows at the back, I slowly stepped in through the window and from where I was, took a good look around, seeing that everything was normal, with various printers, computers and filing cabinets in the room. Nothing was amiss, which made me even more cautious because of whoever set that trap up since that was definitely designed to seriously injure, if not kill, anyone who went through that door. Everyone else came through, with Keith's Buizel coming in last and at the room more thoroughly, since the last thing I wanted was to check the room by myself and end up getting ambushed.

Now that the room was deemed as safe, we all walked over to the staircase that was at the right of the room. Before we actually headed up there, I once again checked for any traps that were on the steps, using the small amount of light coming into the room as my way of seeing. After checking each step myself and deeming it to be safe, I headed up first so that in the event I was wrong, then everyone else would be safe. When I reached the top of the steps, I waved everyone over, with Luana in particular being very relieved I was okay.

_'__Sorry for worrying you like that my love, I just had to make sure all of you would be safe. Whoever's here definitely isn't playing around.' _I thought to myself as we reached the second floor.

The five of us were crouching by the top of the steps by the railing, carefully observing the entire floor where we saw twenty men and women tied up being guarded by a Team Dim Sun grunt. The grunt turned around and spotted us, his eyes soon fixated on our positions in case we tried to move. The grunt then tried waving over some of his buddies to no avail. I was contemplating whether I should try rushing him, but ultimately decided against it because of how the grunt continued watching us. Even if he wasn't focused on us, he could easily harm a hostage if any of us got too close.

"Hey guys, we got Rangers here!" The grunt yelled as he got the attention of his cohorts.

We heard some shouting from upstairs and got into position as nine grunts came storming downstairs, Miniremos at the ready.

"Well…this is going to be…fun." A grunt said with a sneer while he and the other grunts started to type in commands.

We soon heard several light footsteps a few seconds later and saw what made those sounds…a Vaporeon, Jolteon and Leafeon soon came into the room, looking enraged just like the other Pokémon Team Dim Sun has mind controlled.

While I tried my best to stay calm, I couldn't help but tremble a little…Jolteon's attacks in particular can be very vicious and the last thing I would want to happen is anyone getting hit by one of its moves. The three Pokémon charged at us, with Leafeon using Razor Leaf, which was aimed right at Keith, who managed to dodge the attack just in time. Vaporeon them tried attacking with Bubblebeam, which was a bit more manageable to avoid as Wendy made loops around the Leafeon, while Luana made loops around the Vaporeon. Jolteon was steadily getting angry and I could see the rage in its eyes as it charged at us, crackling with electricity as it aimed for Sven, who was trying to deal with some of the grunts and I noticed Buizel, and got an idea since I had to do something to protect Sven and the hostages.

"Buizel, use Water Gun on that Jolteon!" I commanded.

Buizel aimed at Jolteon and managed to make a direct impact, knocking it against the wall as it recovered quickly, slowing down just enough compared to before. I used this opportunity to make several loops around Jolteon, though it tried launching Discharge at me, which Buizel managed to dodge. I took notice of the Leafeon that was now captured, so I continued my focus on Jolteon, which launched several small lightning bolts towards me as well as balls of energy imbued with electric energy

Sven was continuing to make loops around the Vaporeon and I noticed that he was getting tired fast. Acting quick, I took over for him as I dodged an Ice Bream aimed for me. I completed several more loops around the Vaporeon as its friendship meter continued to rise and soon enough, I captured the Pokémon right as it was charging up another Ice Beam. The Jolteon wasn't too happy that we caught Leafeon and Vaporeon, and to our horror, it immediately started charging at us. I quickly made loops around the Pokémon, not hesitating for a second as I feared that if I did, Jolteon would get a chance to completely charge up and the results could easily end up killing one of us if it managed to hit us. After making several loops around the Pokémon, I was able to capture it and was happy that we managed to capture all three Eeveelutions as the Miniremos soon malfunctioned, with the Eeveelutions walking downstairs.

The grunts attempted to escape, but Keith had Buizel use Water Gun on them, which made them get clustered into a pile as Sven, Wendy and Keith tied up all the grunts, while Luana and I freed the hostages from their bondages, with all of them very cautious and scared.

"Man, these grunts were really vicious compared to most of the ones we faced…should we call the Ranger Union for some Staraptors to take these guys back there?" Sven asked.

"Yes, go ahead and ask for some Staraptors or Rangers to help us out. Capturing those Pokémon wasn't easy, but we did it. Good work everyone." I said as Sven nodded and got on his Styler.

"Hello Linda, we need some Staraptors to come pick up ten grunts that took over the Almia Times office. If any Rangers are nearby, we'll need their assistance as well with the hostages that were rescued." Sven said.

"Luana, let's head upstairs really quick, I'd like to see if anyone's lurking on the third floor." I said.

"Good idea, let's go quickly. Some other people might be trapped up there!" Luana said as we headed to the third floor.

Luana and I let everyone know that we would be back and promptly headed upstairs where there were some printers and shelving units. We went ahead and checked every area of the room that a grunt could be hiding and were relieved that there weren't any to be found.

"Good, there isn't anyone else here, let's head back downstairs!" I said as we both walked down the staircase.

Keith was helping the hostages going to the first floor as several of them were disoriented, while the grunts were simply tied up, with none of them speaking. Sven was on his Styler talking with someone as we headed over to him, feeling very relieved that the hostages were okay.

"Yes Rhythmi, the hostages are safe, do you know why Team Dim Sun was attacking the Almia Times office? It seems like a very odd thing for them to do." Sven asked as Wendy walked over to us.

"Hi Wendy, Luana and I already checked upstairs, after a thorough search, we discovered that there isn't anyone up there at all. Is every hostage and grunt accounted for?" I asked.

"Hello Kellyn and Luana, everyone who was here is accounted for and we checked downstairs where it was all clear. This was a really intense situation, it's a good thing that everyone made it out okay." Wendy said.

"Yeah, it would have been horrible if anyone got hurt. Are you guys okay with doing the next quest? We can definitely take a breather if you guys need to." I said as Sven and Keith came back upstairs.

"We're up for the next quest! It's the fifth one you guys have to do, let's see what it says." Sven said as he checked his Styler.

"Hopefully it's something that's much less intense than this quest." Keith said.

"It definitely is, the quest involves us helping out an employee of Altru Inc. because of his Pokémon getting stolen. He doesn't have a name or anything here but it says that he'll be providing details once we meet him in front of Altru Inc. and he's going to tell us where the Pokémon last was." Keith said.

"A stolen Pokémon? We have to go help right away!" I said as we all went downstairs.

Looking at the first floor, I saw that the boarded up windows were now letting sunlight shine through and the trap that was once there was completely gone. We went through the front door, with the grunts no longer in the area, and headed over to Altru Inc. to help the employee.

We reached the building within minutes, discovering the employee in front, clearly distraught over his missing Pokémon. Once we approached him though, he became quite a bit calmer.

"Hello sir, we heard about your stolen Pokémon and we're here to help you out. Can you please tell us more information about it, such as what Pokémon it is and where you last were with it before it got stolen?" I asked as the man blew into a handkerchief.

"Thank you for the help Rangers, my name's Francis. Let me tell you all what happened, my Raichu and I were walking in Vien Forest along the main path when we were attacked. I was punched in the face and Raichu was swiped from me before I even knew what was happening, I have no idea what the thief looked like since he had a mask on, but it wasn't a Team Dim Sun uniform, it was just street clothes. He didn't seem like he was in a rush to flee either, which I found especially odd." Francis said.

"No worries Francis, we're going to do our best to find him." Luana said.

"Thank you so much, let me know if you find him!" Francis said as we waved to him and headed to the Vien Forest shortly afterwards.

"It's rather odd that we're back here considering that we had to help Russ with his stolen Styler. To be fair, Vien Forest is rather large, but there's a lot of problems that seem to be occurring in this area." I said.

"You're right, it's weird that we already had to come back here twice, both times for things that were stolen from people." Sven said.

"That is a bit strange but don't worry, if you guys were able to get that stolen Styler then you'll be able to get Francis's Raichu back. After I help you guys search for the thief and we're successful at getting Raichu to his owner, then I'll be heading back to the Ranger Union, are you guys going to be coming back as well?" Keith asked.

"We'll be doing the last quest we have to do today and then we'll most likely be heading back to the Ranger Union after Luana and I do patrols." I said.

"Oooh, that sounds like it'll be rather nice, I'm not too surprised that you guys did five quests already, it's only 2:15 P.M.! You four are really dedicated Top Rangers, but don't work yourselves too hard!" Keith said as I chuckled.

"Haha, don't worry Keith, we won't. I can't believe that someone would have the nerve to attack someone in broad daylight. I hope we'll find this thief soon and bring Raichu back unharmed." I said.

"Yeah, it's really unfortunate for anyone who gets something stolen from them, since they'll be worried about getting it back. I would suggest splitting up, but there's the possibility that we could get attacked as well." Wendy said as we continued searching through the forest.

"Exactly, it's frustrating when that happens, I can't imagine someone stealing something so valuable to me. We'll need to keep looking for this thief." Sven said.

After several minutes of searching, we eventually came across a small clearing where we saw a woman looking around the trees, paying no attention to us despite us being only five feet away. She was most likely looking for an exit and she decided to turn around, with all of us spotting a large bag in her hands. The woman looked at us before throwing the bag and running into the trees as I caught the bag, with Sven and Keith running after her. I carefully opened up the bag, not wanting to startle the Raichu that was inside and the Pokémon happily jumped out, clearly relieved to be rescued. A few seconds had passed before Sven and Keith came back out with the woman tied up as Keith got on his Styler.

"Rhythmi, I'm bringing this thief back to the Ranger Union. The rest of my friends have another quest to do." Keith said.

"Sounds good Keith, thanks for letting me know! See you later, bye!" Rhythmi said.

"Bye Rhythmi, I'll be there soon." Keith said as he hanged up.

"You're heading back? Be careful Keith." Wendy said.

"I will, thanks!" Keith said as he waved to us, with him and the thief leaving shortly afterwards.

"Nice, we got the Raichu back and the thief was captured! Let's head back to Francis!" I said as we all went to Altru Tower, spotting Francis as he ran up to his Raichu.

"My…my darling Raichu, I'm so glad you're back! Thank you so much Rangers, you have no idea how happy this makes me!" Francis said.

"You're welcome, we're all glad that your Raichu is back with you safely. If you need anything, just ask the Ranger Union and a Ranger will be more than happy to help you out!" I said as we all headed back to Pueltown.

The second we entered Pueltown, my Styler began to ring and seeing that it was Marcus, I answered right away.

"Hello Kellyn, hi Luana. I was calling because there isn't a sixth quest for you guys to do since there was an error. I'll go ahead and note down that all of the quests that you guys did with Wendy and Sven were finished and the four of you will receive the rewards for all six of them. Also, once you guys get your Power-Up Data, please head back to the Ranger Union right away." Marcus said.  
"Sure thing Marcus, thank you, bye!" I said.

"Not a problem Kellyn, bye!" Marcus said as I hanged up.

"Awesome, six quests done, let's walk along Union Road in the meantime!" Wendy said as we made our way to Union Road.

We all got our Power-Up Data halfway through Union Road, being able to reduce damage from Normal, Dark, Fire, Ground and Psychic type attacks by three damage each. We also received Power-Up Data for reducing Fighting type attacks twice, just like the other ones we filled in, with only five quests to go!

"Woah, nice work guys, Wendy and I have about six quests to go. Some of these quests were a bit dangerous, but we're glad we helped you two out!" Sven said.

"Yeah, some of them were really intense but it's a good thing we helped out citizens today." I said as we eventually made it to the Ranger Union.

-Luana's POV-

All of us headed inside the Ranger Union, Kellyn and I about to head to our bedroom until we heard the PA system.

"Luana and Kellyn, please head to the Operator's Room immediately. Thank you." Marcus said.

"The Operator's Room? Alright then, bye Sven, bye Wendy, see you guys later!" Kellyn said as we all exchanged goodbyes.

"What do you think Chairperson Erma wants?" I asked as Kellyn thought for a moment.

"Maybe she wants to make sure we're not traumatized after that hostage situation? That could be possible." Kellyn said.

"Hmm, that does make a lot of sense." I said as we both headed to the Operator's Room.

Kellyn and I went up the escalator and spotted Chairperson Erma talking with Marcus, Rhythmi and Linda. When she spotted us, she went over to a small table away from the three of them and waved us over, with the two of us immediately jogging over and sitting down across from her.

"Hello Chairperson Erma, you wanted to see us?" I asked as Chairperson Erma nodded.

"Yes dearies, I have received information about members of Team Dim Sun being in Almia Castle." Chairperson Erma said as Kellyn and I both exchanged shocked looks.

"W-what?! When did this happen?" Kellyn asked.

"According to the researchers living there, the grunts have been there for about a week now. The researchers were being held captive by them before a few of them managed to escape and informing the Ranger Union. The grunts might be trying to steal the Pokémon there or even establish Almia Castle as another base of operations." Chairperson Erma.

"That's awful! So you'd for like us to go there and take them out?" I asked.

"Well, people have mentioned the grunts that they spotted as only being female, with Leilani being their leader. Plus, you won't be taking them out, but rather, joining their team and messing up Leilani's division internally in the hopes that you'll see the boss." Chairperson Erma said.

"That seems dangerous, how will I do that? Leilani knows what I look like!" I said.

"Oh dearie, I assure you that you'll be fine, Leilani would most likely be too preoccupied with designing the Almia Castle in her own style to be the own enlisting you in her little team. She'll have some of her admins do the hiring. Of course, with how dangerous this mission is, you'll be going with Wendy." Chairperson Erma said as Kellyn was deep in thought.

"Does this mean that I can't go with Luana? I…I could disguise myself with a wig or something to blend in! Luana and Wendy are both capable, but Leilani is very dangerous." Kellyn said.

"I'm sorry dearie, but this mission will be for Wendy and Luana only. None of the other female Rangers we have at the Ranger Union can do this mission, they're not as qualified. Sven and you will have to stay behind." Chairperson Erma said.

"But…but…" I stammered.

I was desperately attempting to find the words to say, but I was unable to do so. Kellyn, understanding as always, put his hand on my shoulder, which made Chairperson Erma smile a little.

"We…we understand Chairperson Erma…when do Luana and Wendy have to go?" Kellyn asked.

"They will be leaving tonight, at 7:00 P.M. where they'll be going to Almia Castle. Ah, speaking of Wendy, let me call her up here along with Sven." Chairperson Erma said as she went over to the same phone she always goes to.

Chairperson Erma announced the same announcement that she did previously and we soon heard running after a few seconds, with Wendy and Sven already in the Operator's Room as they got chairs and sat down next to us.

"Sorry, Wendy and I were in our room. Kellyn, can…can there be other female Rangers going to do this task?" Sven asked.

"Unfortunately not Sven, even though safety in numbers is important or useful. It seems that in this situation, Luana and Wendy are the only ones capable of doing this mission." Kellyn said, looking dejected.

"Chairperson Erma, can't we just disguise Kellyn and Sven? We work as a team and we can get Leilani!" Wendy said as Sven sat down by Kellyn.

"I'm sorry dearies. Wendy, let us discuss the entirety of the plan with you and Sven as well since you two weren't here for some of it." Chairperson Erma said.

"I…I understand. Go ahead Chairperson Erma, tell me everything about the plan and what needs to be done." Wendy said.

Chairperson Erma explained the entire situation to Wendy, who became distraught after learning that she'd be away from Sven for at least a week if not more.

"How long does Luana and Wendy have to be there?" Kellyn asked.

"I really hope it's not more than a month or so." I said.

"Well dearies, Luana and Wendy will first need to teleport to Almia Castle and observe what the grunts are doing for at least a few hours or a day. Then the two of them will pretend to work for Team Dim Sun as they secretly destroy Leilani's squadron from the inside out. Remember, you two will be leaving at 7 P.M. to gather information about what the grunts are doing, and then the following day, you two will then work for Team Dim Sun. It's important that you two follow these instructions given how dangerous Leilani has been before. Try to damage their equipment or do other things to mess with her lackeys, that'll get her really furious. This is going to be a very dangerous mission and can take a long time to do, possibly more than a month, however, you can still talk with one another, just be discreet about it." Chairperson Erma said.

"We…we understand Chairperson Erma. Luana, would you like to head downstairs and get ready?" Kellyn asked.

"Of course sweetheart…let's go. Sven, Wendy, we'll see you guys in a bit." I said as Sven nodded while he tried consoling Wendy.

Kellyn and I decided to head downstairs and into our bedroom, with the both of us taking our shoes off as we lied down on the bed.

"Luana…I know that you're most likely worried and sad, I don't blame you, I feel the same way. Being without you for a day would certainly be a lot on my heart, but anything longer than that makes me sad. While you and I can do things as individuals, you already know you and I work better as a pair. Just…make sure you come back safely…" Kellyn said as he embraced me.

"Oh Kellyn…you're so understanding. My heart is going to hurt just as much as yours but assure you that I will come back safely. Don't you worry, I'm strong, just like you." I said as Kellyn smiled.

"I'm glad that you're optimistic, I'll do my best! I'm also thinking of making sure Sven is okay after you and Wendy leave since I guarantee you that he's feeling just as sad as I am. I'll be very worried about you." Kellyn said.

"That's a good idea, I'm glad that we're all great friends to each other. Even though Sven is going to be really sad when Wendy goes on this undercover mission, I know that you'll find a way to cheer him up. Make sure that you don't stress yourself too much, I'll be with Wendy thankfully." I said.

"It won't be easy, but I'll try. I'll call you at least once a day to make you're alright, if you're okay with that." Kellyn said as I smiled.

"That's definitely not a problem at all, I'll make sure that my Styler doesn't make any noise! Please be safe, I'll be worried about you just as much as you'll be about me." I said.

"I know you and Wendy are going to be okay, it's just the unpredictability of Team Dim Sun, that's what I'm worried about. Leilani in particular is going to be a problem but at the same time, you've been through a lot, I think that you two have nothing to fear!" Kellyn said.

"Thank you Kellyn, I needed that. Since it's only 2:53 P.M., I was thinking of taking a nap so I'm rested and energized for when me and Wendy have to go to Almia Castle. Would that be alright with you?" I asked.

"Of course it is, let me just get comfy." Kellyn said as he put our pillows and blankets on the love seat.

Considering the love seat looked extremely inviting, I immediately went over to it and sat down as Kellyn happily joined me, with the two of us snuggling close together.

"This feels so relaxing, I'll definitely be able to fall asleep like this." I said.

"Good, I'm glad to hear that, enjoy your rest Luana, love you." Kellyn said.

"No worries Kellyn, I'll rest easy knowing you're with me. I love you too Kellyn." I said as I soon drifted off to sleep.

I woke up some time later and checked my Styler, seeing that it was 6:23 P.M, I gently shook Kellyn awake despite wanting to snuggle with him more. He eventually opened his eyes and he looked at the time, gasping in surprise.

"I hope you had a good rest before you have to leave!" Kellyn said as we headed to the front door.

"I did, it's unfortunate that we have to leave already…" I said as we both put our shoes on.

"Don't feel sad, we won't be next to each other for some time, but it'll be worth it once you come back safely. I won't lie that it makes me sad that you and Wendy will have to get going now." Kellyn said as we both embraced before heading out the door.

"I know, we'll be back before you know it. I'll be as optimistic as always!" I said as Kellyn smiled slightly.

Kellyn and I both headed to the Operator's Room, with Kellyn understandably still a bit saddened from the thought of being without me.

"Kellyn, don't you worry, you'll be strong just like I told you earlier. Team Dim Sun doesn't stand a chance against us!" I said as Kellyn cheered up compared to how he felt before.

"Thank you Luana, that's right. I don't know what you two will expect when you go to Almia Castle, but either way, have a plan in case things become dangerous." Kellyn said.

"Great thinking as usual, I'll make sure to remember that, being cautious is always needed!" I said as we walked up to Chairperson Erma.

Wendy, Sven and an Espeon were right by her while Marcus, Rhythmi and Linda were doing their work as usual, though they waved to us when we approached while we said hello to them.

"Hello dearies, I'm glad that you two are here. Luana, you and Wendy have to go now. I have some things for you, such as clothes and food." Chairperson Erma said as she presented Wendy and I with a small container which contained some food and clothes as well a tent.

"Good, this is going to be just what you two will need. Looks like there aren't any water bottles and sleeping bags in here though." Kellyn said.

"Oh my, I forgot to put those in, sorry about that dearies!" Chairperson Erma said as she went underneath the table and put two sleeping bags and a few bottles of water in.

_'__Kellyn, nice work, we might be there for a while just trying to stake out Team Dim Sun's operations, water and sleeping bags would be the exact thing we need.' _I thought to myself.

"Not a problem, I guess since preparations are all done, Luana and I have to go now, correct?" Wendy asked.

"That's correct, please take your time in saying goodbyes to each other. Once you're all ready, meet me back at this table." Chairperson Erma said as the four of us went to where the three Top Operators were.

"So the girls are leaving? You two are going to do just fine." Linda said.

"Thanks Linda, it's sad Kellyn and Sven can't come with us, but we're going to do our best in this infiltration! We need to do this to protect people from Team Dim Sun's nefarious goals!" I said.

"That's right, you two know what you have to do. The three of us will see how Kellyn and Sven are coping when we're able to. Best of luck!" Marcus said.

"Yeah, you guys have nothing to worry about, be careful!" Rhythmi said.

"We'll do everything we can to help people and to find out what's going on with Team Dim Sun and Leilani. We're going to let you guys know of our findings once we're successfully in the infiltration of the castle. Thanks in advance for checking up on Kellyn and Sven, I'll have to get going now, but it was nice talking with all of you!" I said.

"Same to you Luana, let us know how everything went when you and Wendy come back!" Linda said as I nodded with Kellyn and I heading back over to Chairperson Erma while Sven and Wendy said their goodbyes as well.

After a few minutes, Wendy and Sven came back over and Chairperson Erma handed Wendy and I an outfit which consisted of a plain blue shirt and black pants.

"You two will just need to change into those and leave your uniforms here, make sure to take your Stylers as well." Chairperson Erma said.

"We will, thank you!" I said as I went through the brown door and entered the hallway as I quickly changed off.

I exited the door and held it open for Wendy, making sure that my Styler was still on me as I headed back over to everyone else and took a jacket from the container, quickly putting it on so that my Styler would be hidden.

"Great, I'm all ready to go, I just need to wait for Wendy and then we'll get teleported near Almia Castle! I know you'll be worrying about me a lot, try your best to cope, I'll certainly try doing that." I said as Kellyn embraced me while I hugged him back just as fiercely.

"I know, I'll miss you Luana." Kellyn said as Wendy came back over and put a jacket over herself.

"Now that the two of you are here, it's time for the both of you to get teleported. Go ahead and teleport them to the Almia Castle, Espeon!" Chairperson Erma said as Espeon's eyes glowed purple.


	52. Chapter 52: A short and sweet update!

Hello there everyone, Eeveefanalways speaking...or is it writing? Typing? Well anyways, I wanted to thank all of you for reading this story. There's only a few chapters more until it's completion and I'm glad to have written this story. This is actually my first fanfic that I've made.

When I first started writing, I didn't think anyone would favorite it, review it, or even like it. It makes me glad to see how many people enjoy my story. When it came to trying to make the story unique, that aspect wasn't too difficult, but I felt that Kellyn needed a partner for the story to really feel more alive. There were many options I was contemplating on pairing Kellyn with, such as Rhythmi, Elaine, or Wendy, but playing through the game itself made me realize that well...in real life, Kellyn could easily be killed, so I thought having him with another Ranger would be better. So with that, Rhythmi and Elaine were out of the story's equation for being with Kellyn, aside from how in the game, Elaine is with Ollie. I thought that Wendy would be good, but then there's the factor of their interactions, basing it off the game...well, the two don't interact with each other a whole lot. Aside from that, most people see Wendy being paired with Sven, which I could definitely see since the two of them are around each other more often, though the stories I've written with Wendy and Kellyn say otherwise. I also didn't want to make another character from scratch because I'm admittedly not great with OC's and trying to give them their own personality can be a bit challenging for me. Take Ben and Betty for instance, aside from them being former Team Dim Sun grunts and turning over a new leaf when seeing Kellyn and Luana's kindness, they're friendly and kind, but not super fleshed out, though that can be attributed to my story focusing on the dynamic duo.

Now that brings me to Luana, I thought out of all the characters in the game, she would be the one who fits with Kellyn the best, she's a Ranger, she's not an OC and she has a personality comparable to Kellyn. I loved playing through the game and I thought their interactions were pretty great, so that got me thinking...why not make a fanfic with the two of them being together? That's how this story became a thing.

Now that my explanation of why I chose Luana over any other female character is done, I hope you all enjoyed it. Don't worry everyone, my story will still update tomorrow, this is just a brief update to thank all of you for reading, favoriting or following my story. Thank you all so very much, I appreciate it!


	53. Chapter 53: The Dangers of Almia Castle!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!**

**A/N: Sorry about the formatting issue, the story looked fine in the preview. My apologies to all the readers.**

Chapter 53: The Dangers of Almia Castle!

Wendy and I were instantly transported to Almia Castle, as I could see it from the hill we were on. Thankfully, the hill itself was covered with a multitude of trees, making us rather hidden.  
"Well…we're here. Should we get started on making the tent?" I asked as Wendy looked around the castle's entrance.

"Sure, let's go ahead and do that before any of those Team Dim Sun goons show up." Wendy said as we got the container of supplies.

The two of us took out the white tent and managed to set it up after several minutes, making sure that it was properly in the ground. Wendy and I went inside and brought the container in as well so that it wouldn't stand out against the snow. From the area we were in, we could get a proper view of the Almia Castle's entrance as we laid in wait for any grunts to show up.

"Luana, I think this entire situation is a bit odd, why would Team Dim Sun grunts come back here? It doesn't make much sense to me." Wendy said.

"Hmm, I get what you're saying, I can only assume they came back here because it's in an area that can't be accessed too well, plus if Leilani is the one that's here…then that means she'll be commanding her grunts around to steal or control the Pokémon living here. The only people who even come here are the researchers, and if the Pokémon really are being mind-controlled, then there's not much they can do aside from asking for help." I said.

"That does sound very worrying…thinking about it now, that does make quite a lot of sense when considering how those grunts can be at times." Wendy said.

"That's right, it'll be hard to do so at first, but we need to appear as if we're interested to work with them. I can't even imagine the awful things they must be doing to Pokémon. We'll have to be careful if we show any remorse, that'll make them suspicious. For now we'll just have to watch the entrance and see if any of them really are in the area." I said as we continued observing the entrance.

Minutes passed, and soon, hours went by as it soon became nightfall. I observed the supplies we had, thinking it was quite strange we had so little supplies, especially if we had to be here for longer than we initially thought. I quickly checked the time, noticing it was 11:39 P.M. and I was surprised that not a single grunt or admin had come out of the entrance.

"This is strange, I would have thought we'd see a grunt or someone by now…" Wendy said as we spotted a person completely dressed in black coming out from the entrance.

I immediately trembled upon spotting this person, the mask over their face frightened me. Even though it wasn't the same Rangers in masks that scared Kellyn before, it still made me remember how terrified he was and I soon felt the same way. The way this person walked and then stopped seemed odd, the way they were moving…it didn't even seem natural. The person simply stood there for a few minutes and I wasn't sure if they spotted us, if they hadn't, I certainly wasn't about to let them know where we were.

"This is very creepy…they don't look like a grunt at all. There's no insignia on their jacket and they haven't moved. It's possible that they already spotted us, maybe they'll remove their mask to taunt us or something." I whispered as the person continued to stay still for a few more minutes.

"M-Maybe they'll do that soon…this is freaking me out." Wendy said in a hushed voice as the mysterious person removed their mask.

We both observed in shock as we saw that the individual was in fact…Leilani. I was extremely worried of her, not just because of everything she did in any of our previous encounters with her, but also because she began to look around the area with a flashlight...it's almost as if she knew we were there. Thankfully, she put her mask back on and headed back inside after she finished looking around, Wendy and I breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't come back out several minutes later.

"Phew…she's gone…that was nerve-wracking. You saw how she was observing her surroundings right? That really scared me, I wouldn't have expected her to do that at all." I said as Wendy nodded.

"I agree, that was terrifying. I'm glad she didn't spot us. It'll be safe to sleep here tonight. I'll call Sven and see how he's doing, of course, I'll make sure to talk quietly." Wendy said.

"Good night, I'll do the same and call Kellyn. I'm still worried about Leilani coming back, how about we take turns sleeping and watch for whenever she or any other Team Dim Sun goons possibly come around the area? For now, I'll observe the area while you talk to Sven." I said.

"That's a good idea, I'll just check up on Sven really quick." Wendy said as she took out her Styler and called Sven, who answered right away.

Wendy spoke to Sven for a few minutes and made sure that he wasn't feeling sad that she wasn't around. Wendy also informed him about us actually seeing Leilani, which we weren't hoping would happen. Of course, this worried him greatly since she would certainly recognize us, however, Wendy managed to calm him down and she said good night to him and hanged up.

"All right, I'll go ahead and give Kellyn a call. I need to see how he's doing." I said as I called Kellyn on my Styler.

I was ecstatic that Kellyn picked up a few seconds later, I figured that he may have fallen asleep given the time, but I assumed that he was still awake knowing how much he was worried about me.

"Hi Luana, how are you doing? Is everything going good with you?" Kellyn asked.

"Hello Kellyn, I'm alright, Wendy and I were observing the castle entrance earlier and didn't spot anyone for a while, though we just spotted Leilani looking around as if she expected us." I said as Wendy continued to observe our surroundings.

"Wow, that's really scary, it's a good thing she didn't notice either of you. You and Wendy should get some sleep though, the two of you are going to be pretending to work with Team Dim Sun tomorrow, who knows what they'll have you guys do." Kellyn said.

"That's a good point, we'll probably take our sleeping bags out and take turns checking the area every so often." I said.

"Sounds like a good plan, just be careful. Did anything else happen?" Kellyn asked.

"Well, the supplies we have here are really slim, it's barely enough for a few hours." I said.

"Wow…that's strange, I'll mention it to Chairperson Erma tomorrow." Kellyn said.

"Thanks sweetheart, I really appreciate it." I said as I heard Kellyn lightly yawn.

"Sorry about that, I'm a bit tired! Good night Luana, love you." Kellyn said.

"Aw, make sure you get some sleep, love you too Kellyn, good night." I said as I hanged up while Wendy took two sleeping bags out, with one being blue and the other being gray.

"Just like Kellyn said, we'll need to get our rest. It wouldn't be good if we got tired halfway through tomorrow. I'll observe the entire area from where we are first and wake you up in two hours. What time were you thinking of going to the entrance?" Wendy asked.

"Thanks for taking the first shift. I feel that 10 A.M. would be best since it wouldn't be early enough that they would be suspicious and we can get to work on destroying any of their equipment quicker compared to going there later." I said as I went into the gray sleeping bag.

"Not a problem, I'll keep watch while you sleep." Wendy said as I nodded and soon fell asleep.

A few hours later, I felt Wendy gently nudging me as I woke up and took over for her. Observing the snow covered castle was something that was not exciting at all, but it needed to be done in case any of the grunts or admins spotted us. If they did spot us, we'd have to act as natural as possible, which be a bit challenging since the castle was overlooking a lake that had ice caps and currents. Before I knew it, two hours had passed and I was hesitant to wake Wendy up, but I did so after contemplating it, and she soon woke up and covered for me. This continued until around 10 A.M. when Wendy woke me up. The two of us rummaged around and looked for some toothpaste and brushes, quickly getting ready as we packed everything up in the container, such as the sleeping bags and tent. Since we couldn't simply walk in with it as it would be very suspicious, Wendy and I buried the container around the same location we were at moments ago. As we both approached the castle, a female admin came out looking confused.

"Huh? What are you two doing here?" The admin asked.

"We're hoping to work for Team Dim Sun, we really love how your uniform is so stylish!" Wendy said.

"Hmm, so you two ladies are looking to join Team Dim Sun, do I have that right?" The admin asked.

"That's right, we certainly are. Can we come in?" I asked.

"Of course! I'll be the one to help you two get settled in. My name's Mary, what are your names?" Mary asked as we both walked inside the castle, which had the same décor as when Kellyn and I first came here.

_'__I don't know about Wendy, but I know that I have to use a different name, not many people are named Luana…maybe Kelly would work…' _I thought to myself.

"My name's Kelly!" I said.

"My name is Violet!" Wendy said.

"Those are some pretty names, nice to meet you, Kelly and Violet! Let me get you two started on some of our equipment right away and give you two your uniforms." Mary said.

The three of us walked halfway through the large dining table and made a turn to go to the room on the left. As we entered, I was surprised to see how different the room was now, with dozens of Miniremos on a few tables while the walls had some shelves which had what appeared to be several collars next to some uniforms.

"Very interesting room…what are we working with first?" Wendy asked as Mary took out two uniforms and set them on a table.

"I agree, Leilani made some odd choices to this room, none of the other rooms have been designed like this. Oh, but aside from that, you two will be using the Miniremos. They're very simple to use!" Mary said as she took two Miniremos and handed them to Wendy and I.

"Are these the Miniremos you mentioned?" Wendy asked.

"Good question Violet, that's right! These Miniremos are designed to control Pokémon and have them do whatever we need, such as getting us heavy equipment we otherwise can't move." Mary said.

"These certainly seem useful, I'm curious, what are those things on the shelves next to the uniforms? Are we going to use them today?" Wendy asked as Mary grinned sadistically.

"We're definitely going to be using those shock collars today. After you two use your Miniremos, I'll hand you your uniforms. I also forgot to mention that Miniremos can summon any Pokémon you want as long as they aren't legendary, they're very helpful when we're being swarmed by Rangers. Go ahead and open up your Miniremos." Mary said as I winced.

Upon opening the Miniremo, I wasn't too surprised to see that it was similar to a laptop with a bright screen and a keyboard, though of course the only noticeable difference was the addition of a button to summon one Pokémon or more if needed. Thankfully, Mary couldn't see our faces or what we were typing, since she was in front of us and the monitors were big enough to cover our faces.

"Oh wow, this really does look simple to use! I'm glad that a lot of these have been made to help out Team Dim Sun, it must have taken a while to make so many." I said.

"It certainly would have taken a while if we didn't have help. We had some young guy named Isaac help us with creating the first Miniremo and then Kincaid took the schematics to mass produce them easily. I feel bad for Isaac though, being manipulated by Kincaid like that." Mary said as I typed in jumbled up words on the Miniremo while I glanced over to see Wendy doing the same.

"Who is Kincaid?" Wendy asked.

"Well Violet, Kincaid's one of the top admins of Team Dim Sun, next to the Sinis Trio. He's helping our real boss at our headquarters since right now they're trying to make something that's essentially going to be a giant Miniremo. Apparently, it'll have the ability to control every Pokémon in Almia and possibly even other regions as well. I'm impressed with Kincaid, he was crafty enough to have a double stand in for him at the research facility and his double is at the Ranger Union. No one there can tell the difference, he acts so much like the real Kincaid, it's actually kind of scary!" Mary said as Wendy and I looked at each other in shock.

"That's a really good plan, that machine sounds like it'll be pretty amazing!" I said.

"I agree, it'll be nice for the boss to control the Pokémon in this region. It's a good thing that we have someone impersonating Chairperson Erma as well. The admin was even able to get a Ditto to look exactly like her! Despite that…she does tend to get very violent when angered and she has a short fuse so hopefully no one there bothers her." Mary said as Wendy and I exchanged worried looks once more.

"She sounds scary! So Mary, when you say that she can get violent…how violent are we talking about?" I asked.

"She could be violent enough to kill someone, it doesn't matter if they're a Ranger or a civilian. She always carries a knife on her and she knows how to use it. Excuse me for a second, I'll be heading outside for a bit." Mary said as she left the room.

_'__Oh no…Kellyn and Sven…they're in serious danger!' _I thought to myself as my heart sank while I became worried about Kellyn's safety.

-Kellyn's POV-

_'__Man, it was tough going to bed last night without Luana…I hope she's okay.' _I thought to myself as I got off of bed and got myself ready for the day.

After I made the bed as usual and got my Styler on, I noticed that the time was 10:25 A.M., I figured that I would get some breakfast, though I didn't even feel like eating knowing the danger Luana was in. I contemplated whether I should even get any breakfast to eat or not and I ultimately decided on getting some food and then tag along with Sven since he'll be feeling just as down as I am without Wendy by his side. I went over to my shoes and put them on, exiting the room shortly afterwards and I squeezed the Eevee squeak toy, hoping Sven would be awake. Thankfully, I only had to wait a few seconds before the door opened as Sven stepped outside.

"Hi Sven, good morning! How are you doing?" I asked as Sven closed the door.

"Hello Kellyn, good morning to you too, I'm doing okay, I just feel pretty sad without Wendy." Sven said.

"I know what you mean, I'm feeling down myself. I was struggling to even sleep since Luana isn't by my side." I said.

"Don't worry, they'll be back before we know it! Are you thinking of getting some breakfast?" Sven asked.

"Yeah, that's true, they're great Top Rangers. Let's go and get something to eat, we can do our Ranger duties today as usual if you'd like." I said as we headed upstairs.

"Sure, that'll be a good idea! We can ask Chairperson Erma what we could do since both of us only have five Ranger Union quests left. Maybe we can help out around town today!" Sven said.

"That would be nice, I was thinking we could head over to Vientown, I'd like to see how Barlow and everyone else is doing." I said as we headed inside the cafeteria.

"Oh man, I remember Vientown, I haven't been there in a while. We can definitely head over there once we say hello to Chairperson Erma and everyone else!" Sven said.

I went ahead and got my breakfast, with my food consisting of six pancakes, syrup and a few Cheri berries. Sven got three pancakes and some syrup with the both of us sitting down afterwards as we began to eat our breakfast. As usual, I finished my food relatively quickly while I waited for Sven to finish, though he was finished before I knew it.

Say, Sven, something seems odd to me…you know how Chairperson Erma had Luana and Wendy go to Almia Castle with that container?" I asked.

"Yeah, that container didn't seem to have much aside from sleeping bags, the tent, some water and dried food." Sven said.

"I know, even though Luana and Wendy weren't using the supplies for long, what if they had to? It seems like when considering how few supplies were in there, the entire thing was inadequately packed." I said.

"You do have a point. Even though Wendy and Luana were told to observe the castle before heading inside, the amount of supplies they were given certainly wasn't enough for them." Sven said.

"I did tell Luana I would ask Chairperson Erma, let's go ask her about it when you're ready." I said as Sven and I simultaneously stood up.

"Well, looks like we're both ready!" Sven said with a chuckle as we put our trays away and headed upstairs to the Operator's Room.

As we reached the Operator's Room, we could see Chairperson Erma on the phone talking to someone, though we weren't sure who and oddly enough, Rhythmi, Marcus and Linda were nowhere to be seen. Sven and I made our way over to Chairperson Erma who hanged up after we walked a few feet.

"Hello Chairperson Erma, good morning! How are you doing?" I asked.

"Hello dearies, I'm doing well. What can I help the two of you with?" Chairperson Erma asked.

"Kellyn and I were wondering about the supplies you gave Wendy and Luana, they seemed rather low which we thought was odd since Wendy and Luana could have easily been there for a few days and wouldn't have had enough food or water." Sven said.

"Don't worry you two, Wendy and Luana are going to be completely fine." Chairperson Erma said.

"I hope you're right ma'am, it's a bit worrisome for me, I just wanted to make sure they were getting the supplies and help they need." I said.

"Thanks for the reassurance Chairperson Erma, Kellyn and I are going to head to Vientown now!" Sven said.

We both started to walk towards the staircase and right as we were about to head downstairs, I felt someone grabbing my arm. I turned to see that it was Chairperson Erma with a slight scowl on her face.

"Ah, just one second dearies. I was hoping the two of you can help me with something. One of our printers needs some cleaning and my hands are too frail to do it. Can the both of you help me?" Chairperson Erma asked.

"Uh…sure Chairperson Erma, just show us where to go." Sven said.

Chairperson Erma smiled and directed us to the same room where we filed all that paperwork, the room was mainly the same with all of the papers being in their cabinets though there was now the addition of two printers, one of which was leaking ink.

"As you can see, that printer with the ink problem is the one needing to be cleaned. One of the filing cabinets should contain some towels to help you two." Chairperson Erma.

"We'll get working on it right away!" I said as Chairperson Erma smiled and left the room, leaving Sven and I to start cleaning the ink.

"Man, this is going to take a long time to clean, this ink is pooling up everywhere." Sven said as I looked in one of the filing cabinets, finding a pack of towels as we worked on the cleanup.

"I know, it'll be a bit of a pain to deal with, but I don't mind. Sven, correct me if I'm wrong but…wasn't Chairperson Erma acting a little odd?" I asked.

"Hmm, now that you mention it, yeah, her behavior does seem rather peculiar to me as well, like when she grabbed your arm as we were leaving or that frown she had." Sven said as I looked behind me, wondering if the fake Chairperson Erma was listening to us.

"Exactly, even more strange is that she mentioned her hands as being too weak to clean this up. We've only been here for five minutes and it's almost as if the spill was never there. Something else that strikes me as suspicious is that Chairperson Erma is on the go all day around the Ranger Union helping out Top Mechanics or Top Operators, she's never once complained about pain." I whispered.

"I know…well on the plus side, we're finished with this mess. Let's get out of here before we get spotted." Sven said as we took the ink soaked towels and tossed them in the trash can next to us.

Sven and I turned around and we both stopped in our tracks as we came face to face with…Luana.

_'__I can already tell this isn't my Luana. Just looking at her for a few seconds, I can already see that her smile isn't cheerful like Luana's, it's…eerie and sadistic. But if this fake tries to pose as Luana and act like she knows me, then I'll play along so Sven can get to safety if it's not possible for me to do.' _I thought to myself as Luana stayed where she was.

"Hi sweetie, hi Sven, Wendy and I are back from our quick investigation on any Team Dim Sun grunts being at the Almia Castle." Luana said.

Luana moved towards one of the filing cabinets, positioning herself in a way that meant she would be closer to me than Sven, giving him a better chance at fleeing if he had to.

"I'm glad to hear that, speaking of Wendy, where is she?" I asked as Luana glared at me.

I indiscreetly nudged Sven who took the hint and slowly started to move towards the door. Thankfully, the imposter paid no attention to Sven and focused all of it on me and it made me wonder why. There's a possibility that she can have other friends waiting by the door to lunge out at any of us if we were to try leaving.

"Wendy's not feeling too well, she was really sick, it was bad enough to the point where I had to take her to the Pueltown Clinic." Luana said.

"Really? How come Wendy didn't call me? I'm finding your story hard to believe." Sven said as Luana walked closer to me.

"G-get back, you're not Luana. Who are you?" I asked as Luana giggled.

"Well…it seems I've been found out…haven't I? Your attentiveness is rather impressive. Posing as Chairperson Erma was easy enough, no one, except you two, suspected a thing." Luana said as Sven and I watched the impostor with horror.

"W-what did you do to Chairperson Erma?" Sven asked as Luana cackled.

"She's just trapped somewhere in the Ranger Union, I didn't harm her at all. Now Sven, I suggest you run along before I have to hurt you." Luana said as I acted quick and pushed her out of the way as a large knife clattered to the floor.

Sven and I quickly bolted out of the room before the impostor could recover, yet to my horror, I heard her footsteps as she started to chase after us.

"Sven, is there anyone we can tell about this? There's the possibility that some of the people at the Ranger Union could very well be impostors just like the person posing as Luana and Chairperson Erma. I hope I'm wrong but for now, I think the safest choice is to head to Vientown." I said as we exited the hallway.

As we made our way halfway through the Operator's Room, I noticed that Marcus, Linda and Rhythmi weren't sitting at their workstations like usual. This made me concerned for their safety, yet also made me a bit fearful in the event that the Top Operators really were already replaced with these doppelgangers like I assumed.

"You're right, Vientown is the best option for us. Let's head over there quick!" Sven said.

"Good idea, maybe we can lose this person in time…looks like we'll have to run a bit faster!" I said.

We soon made our way to the first floor and were about to leave, however, I turned back to see Luana at the entrance to the escalator, staring directly at me with a sadistic grin on her face while she didn't move. Unnerved by this, Sven and I soon exited the Ranger Union and encountered no one else along Union Road. I couldn't help but wonder where everyone else at the Ranger Union could be and I became even more worried when thinking about the possibility of the impostor killing them.

We soon made it into Pueltown and noticed that everything was the same as usual, so we quickly ran through Vien Forest, not stopping for a moment. Sven and I made it to Vientown and we both were able to catch our breath as we saw the Ranger Base within sight. We continued towards the Ranger Base and headed inside, I was thankful that the door wasn't locked and I collapsed on the ground, happy that we were able to make it out safely while I didn't feel as fearful. Everyone at the Ranger Base looked shocked to see us, especially since it was apparent to them that we were running for our lives, Barlow quickly rushed over to help us as I scrambled to my feet and sat down on a chair to compose myself.

"Barlow…something's wrong at the Ranger Union. Someone was posing as Chairperson Erma and Luana while we were there, and she tried to kill us." I said as everyone looked very terrified or shocked.

"Yeah and we have no idea where anyone is, so we came here. Chairperson Erma was acting weird, so we knew something was up, but we don't know what to do about the situation now. It was two against one yet this woman seemed far more dangerous than any other combative person we've encountered." Sven said as Crawford and Elaine listened intently.

"Wow…it's a good thing you guys made it out safely, Crawford and I went by Pueltown earlier this morning and thought it was odd that we didn't see any Rangers coming out from Union Road as usual. However, we did see a lot of Rangers around Pueltown's streets and they didn't look distressed at all, so they most likely left before everyone else mysteriously vanished." Barlow said as Elaine handed us water bottles.

"Yeah…I think we should head back there and take her down, it's just really scary how she was able transform from looking like Chairperson Erma to Luana. Hmmm, if she was able to transform, then that means…she has a Ditto helping her out." I said as I finished off my water.

"I never would have thought of Team Dim Sun using a Ditto, but if we do go back, how do we deal with that Ditto?" Sven asked as Ollie approached us.

"You guys could use a Pokémon's move to knock the Ditto back some, maybe just enough so that it'll get launched off of her and reveal who she actually is. The two of you could use a Water type Pokémon!" Ollie said.

"That's a great idea Ollie! Sven, are you ready to head back there?" I asked.

"I am, we can get a Water type in Vien Forest!" Sven said.

"Yeah, that's the best place to go, but it'll be dangerous for us to go by ourselves. Would any of you guys like to tag along? We can head to Pueltown first and some of you guys can warn the Rangers that are in the area." I said.

"I like how that sounds Kellyn. Crawford, Elaine, and Ollie, you three are going to be tagging along and the four of us will explain to the Rangers in Pueltown about what's taking place at the Union. Jen, you'll stay here if that's alright with you." Barlow said.

"That's fine with me sir, I'll make sure to lock the Ranger Base up in case that woman tries coming here." Jen said.

"Good idea, is everyone ready?" Barlow asked as we all nodded.

"You bet we are, let's go!" I said.

We all exited the Ranger Base and were halfway through Vien Forest with a shortcut when we went over a small bridge that was above a river. I looked around for any Water Pokémon that could help and spotted a Poliwhirl coming out of the river, which I captured after avoiding several BubbleBeams.

"Wow, nice work on that capture!" Elaine said.

"Thank you, let's continue towards Pueltown. We're almost there!" I said as we continued jogging alongside the route.

After a few minutes, we quickly reached Pueltown as Ollie immediately went looking for Rangers to speak with.


	54. Chapter 54: The Imposter!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!**

Chapter 54: The Imposter!

"Be careful guys, stay safe!" Crawford said.

"Yeah, show that impostor who's boss!" Elaine said.

"It'll be a daunting task to do, but we'll definitely do our best!" Sven said.

"Make sure that you two come back safely, for Luana and Wendy's sake." Barlow said as Crawford and Elaine started speaking with some Rangers.

"No worries sir, we'll do everything we can so that we come back safely." I said.

"You know it Kellyn! It'll be a bit worrying because of how Luana and Wendy are going to be stunned or angry once they hear about what occurred at the Ranger Union!" Sven said.

"I agree, but as long as everyone makes it out okay, that's what matters. Let's go before she tries hurting anyone else." I said as we waved to Barlow.

"Good luck you two!" Barlow said as we nodded and headed to the Ranger Union.

"Kellyn, good thinking about going to Vientown on short notice like that!" Sven said as we jogged through Union Road.

"Thanks, I mainly did it because that lady could change into Chairperson Erma again and lure Rangers into thinking nothing is amiss. She could definitely kill someone who's unaware of how dangerous she is." I said.

"Yeah, she's scary…let's go careful." Sven said as we eventually made our way to the Ranger Union and headed inside.

Sven and I cautiously went through the lobby, making sure that there wasn't a chance that the impostor could jump out at us and strike. The entire situation was nerve racking since we were wondering where everyone else was and what we could do to help them. We checked most of the area and went to the sleeping quarters, making sure to pull on each doorknob and we were thankful that it was locked. Afterwards, we passed the Top Ranger Training Room until I had an idea.

"Say…Sven, you don't think everyone's trapped in the Top Ranger Training Room, do you?" I asked.

"That could be a possibility, let's look!" Sven said.

I put my palm on the wall, which allowed us access to the Training Room, though when we reached the actual training area, no one could be found inside. We both headed back outside to the main area and went upstairs, making sure to check every room on the second floor to make sure no one was there. At this point, I was wondering where everyone was and figured that the last place they could be was the Operator's Room. Sven and I headed up there and were astonished to find Marcus, Linda, Rhythmi, Ben, Betty and Chairperson Erma near the workstations struggling from their bonds, though I was also relieved to know that they were okay.

"Get ready Poliwhirl, we're going to need your Bubblebeam at any moment's notice." I whispered as Poliwhirl nodded.

We all heard cackling right after I said that, and the doppelganger, still disguised as Luana, emerged from underneath a table a few feet from us. I was both terrified and angered at seeing this doppelganger and we were well aware of what she was capable of. Making sure that we both kept our distance from her was the only option.

"K-Kellyn, I'm scared, what happened to everyone?" The doppelganger teased as she laughed once more.

"You're despicable. Poliwhirl, use Water Gun!" I shouted as Poliwhirl unleashed a powerful Bubblebeam.

The Bubblebeam hit Luana hard and sent her reeling back, which made her hit the table as the Ditto unlatched from her body. Now that the disguise was now gone, we both saw a woman who looked very familiar to us. I soon felt dread when I realized that this woman looked identical to Jessica, which means she either has a twin or managed to escape.

The woman was enraged at the Ditto and glared at it before turning back to us. I glanced over at the Pokémon and saw that it was also in agony, confirming that the poor Pokémon was also being controlled, possibly by a Miniremo. Sven wasted no time in making loops around the Ditto, which didn't attack at all. In less than a minute, Sven captured the Pokémon and promptly released the Ditto, which looked very relieved to be free from this woman's grasp as it went downstairs.

"Well, it seems you two found me out…do either of you two know who I am?" The woman asked.

"No, we don't and it doesn't matter anyway." Sven said as the woman gritted her teeth.

"It does matter! I'm Jessica's twin sister, Julie!" Julie screamed as I felt myself starting to panic.

"Y-you're…you're her sister…what…what do you want with the Ranger Union?" Sven asked as Julie became enraged.

"Isn't it obvious?! I'm here to avenge her! She didn't need to be arrested for trying to kill Marcus at all, the only thing she wanted to do was to get that device so that she can impress the boss. Her being a Ranger did have its advantages, such as knowing about anything happening with the Ranger Union…her finding out about the device that was being made certainly was helpful. Asking Team Dim Sun for a Ditto was simple and so I made it seem like Luana and Wendy needed to go to Almia Castle, though they'll be killed soon enough. It's a shame everyone in this room knows too much. I'll just have to kill all of you, starting with Marcus so I can finish my sister's job." Julie said as she turned around and sprinted towards Marcus.

"No! Marcus!" I said as I chased after Julie.

Thankfully, I was able to catch up with Julie and yanked her backwards, sending her tumbling to the ground. I stood in front of everyone that was in harm's way and Julie quickly recovered even as Sven sprinted over to help me. Julie quickly pulled out a knife and tried slashing at me so I tried wrestling the knife away from her for quite a while.

"Don't worry Kellyn, I'm coming!" Sven said.

"Poliwhirl, use Water Gun!" I said as I tried to position myself out of harm's way.

However, Julie was able to pull away from me and the Water Gun missed her, with the stream of water coming close to hitting the workstations. Before I could even react, she managed to slice me across my torso area, piercing through my uniform as I coughed up blood and held the wound that I received to my chest, realizing that I was only a few inches of my neck being slashed. She tried to aim for me again, but Sven tackled her just in time as the knife and a phone clattered to the floor, making the Poliwhirl flee in terror. Even despite the severe pain I was in, I noticed that Julie's phone was calling someone named Mary and I knew that she was part of Team Dim Sun, though I had no idea what rank.  
"That's what you get for trying to protect others. I'm glad I was able to stab you, but it's too bad I couldn't kill you, Kellyn. Mary, you know what to do to those two…" Julie said as Sven tied her up.

_'__Those two?! Oh no…Luana…Wendy! They're in trouble!' _I thought to myself as I became filled with dread.

"Shut up, scum. Don't worry Kellyn, I'm going to get a doctor to help you out right now!" Sven said as he and I looked at each other with fear.

Since Sven was preoccupied with restraining Julie, I decided to stagger over to untie everyone while Julie tried fighting against him.

"T-thanks Sven…I'll help untie everyone." I said as Sven finished cuffing Julie.

Sven immediately stopped me from untying everyone and led me over to a chair.

"No Kellyn. You're injured, I'm going to get Dr. Rhythmi on the line right now." Sven said as I saw Julie, glaring at me, while all I could do was grin at her being unable to move at all.

Sven got on his Styler while also removing the bondages from everyone. Before long, I collapsed on the ground as I slipped into unconsciousness.

-Luana's POV-

"Wendy, what do you think is taking Mary so long? We can't keep acting like we don't know how to use these Miniremos any longer. I think we should ambush her." I said.

"I don't know what she's doing. Maybe we could hit her with these cheap Miniremos?" Wendy asked.

"Good plan, let's do it once she's distracted." I said.

A few minutes later, Mary came back in with a cheerful look on her face and I began to further contemplate on how we can put our plan into action.

"Well, I just got word from Julie, you know, the dangerous woman I was telling the two of you about. She managed to tie up some of the Union staff and she barely managed to attack Kellyn. I think that she did rather well. I'm glad the boss had her carry out the attack. She may have gotten captured but that's alright considering that she stabbed Kellyn." Mary said as I felt my heart sink.

"That's great that Julie was able to carry out such a hard task. Violet and I are getting used to these Miniremos as well and we're ready to use them!" I said as Mary smiled.

"That's wonderful! I'm thrilled to hear that you and Wendy enjoy working for Team Dim Sun already." Mary said as our eyes widened.

"Sorry? My name isn't Wendy, it's Violet." Wendy said.

"No it's not, I know that your names are Luana and Wendy. I was planning to kill you two later on with Leilani to help me, but she had an Abra teleport her away from here, so I'll just have to kill you both right now." Mary said as she lunged at us.

In a split second, I took the Miniremo and slammed it against Mary's head, the brittle plastic didn't even make her budge as she tried attacking Wendy, though I punched her square in the jaw as she fell back towards the wall. Using this opportunity to our advantage, Wendy and I quickly fled the castle and saw a Staraptor flying around nearby. Wasting no time, I quickly made loops around the Pokémon and captured it without any trouble as Wendy and I both hopped on Staraptor.

"Staraptor, take us to the Ranger Union, please!" I said as Staraptor quickly flew to the Ranger Union.

Along the way, I received a call on my Styler, noticing that it was Sven.

"Luana? Wendy? You two have to get out of that castle, it's a trap!" Sven said.

"Don't you worry Sven, we're already out. Did you hear what happened to Kellyn?" I asked, unsure if the person I was speaking with was truly Sven or not.

"Yes, Kellyn was stabbed in the chest by a woman named Julie, she was trying to kill Marcus as revenge for her sister, Jessica and Kellyn intervened. We have her restrained and everyone's been rescued without any injuries to them." Sven said as my heart began to race.

"Oh Kellyn…Sven, tell me, what's his condition? Is he stable?" I asked.

"He's doing okay, though he's still unconscious. Kellyn's been muttering your name while Dr. Rhythmi and Chairperson Erma watched over him." Sven said.

"I understand…thank you Sven. We're on our way. Let Marcus or Chairperson Erma know about Mary and have someone capture her at the castle." I said.

"You got it, bye Luana!" Sven said as I hanged up while we continued to fly.

We reached the Ranger Union within minutes from the call finishing and I went ahead and thanked the Staraptor for its help. Wendy and I soon ran inside.

"Luana…Kellyn's going to be fine, I know it." Wendy said.

"I…I know, but it's all my fault! If I was more observant of Chairperson Erma's strange behavior, then…Kellyn would be okay." I said.

"Luana, it's not your fault, everyone was fooled by that impostor! Besides, you know that Kellyn would be really upset knowing that you're blaming yourself, don't do that." Wendy said as we walked to the second floor.

"That's true, thanks Wendy. Let's hurry, Sven has to be worried about you as well!" I said.

"He probably is, he worries too much, but it's better than him not worrying at all!" Wendy said as we headed into the medical room.

When we both opened the door, I immediately saw Dr. Rhythmi, Chairperson Erma, Sven and Kellyn. Chairperson Erma and Dr. Rhythmi were by a small table discussing something while Sven was sitting by Kellyn, who had a blanket over him as he was getting some rest. We entered the room and headed over to Sven and Kellyn, with Chairperson Erma and Dr. Rhythmi waving to us while we did the same.  
"Hi Sven, it's good to see you. How's Kellyn holding up?" I asked while Wendy hugged Sven and sat down next to him.

"It's nice to see the both of you as well, Kellyn is doing relatively well. Chairperson Erma was attacked sometime when you guys were doing the hostage quest and the others were attacked after you two went to the Almia Castle. There weren't any other employees in the Ranger Union, so we went to Vientown and got Barlow and the others to help us out and explain the situation to any Ranger or Mechanics in Pueltown." Sven said.

"I'm so happy that Kellyn is fine, I don't know what I'd do if I lost him. It's terrifying to think about what that crazy woman would have done to everyone she captured…it's a good thing you guys went to Vientown quickly and got some help when you really needed it." I said as I observed Kellyn and saw how peaceful he was.

"Yeah, that was a good choice you guys did, getting additional help when everyone else was fooled by the fake Chairperson Erma was brilliant. By the way Sven, I'm thinking that we can give Luana and Kellyn some privacy, let's head over to Chairperson Erma and Dr. Rhythmi for a bit." Wendy said.

"I agree, we'll be here if you need anything Luana." Sven said.

"Thanks guys, I appreciate it." I said.

The two of them headed over to the table Chairperson Erma and Dr. Rhythmi were conversing at and spoke with them. A few seconds later, Sven and Wendy left the room with Chairperson Erma and Dr. Rhythmi coming over to us.

"Hello dearie, I'm so sorry for everything that happened. The four of you were put in harm's way and for that, I sincerely apologize. Area Rangers in Hia Valley are going to Almia Castle to apprehend Mary right now. Please let me know if there's anyway I can make up for it." Chairperson Erma said.

"There's no need to be sorry Chairperson Erma, you had no way of knowing a psychopath would come into the Ranger Union like that. If I do need anything for Kellyn, I'll let you know." I said as Chairperson Erma smiled.

"Wonderful, please take care of yourself Luana." Chairperson Erma said as she patted me on the shoulder and left the room.

"Hello Luana, I just wanted to inform you that Kellyn will be okay once he gets a Chansey or a Blissey to help him out, otherwise, he'll need at least a week of rest. I'll ask a Ranger to locate either of those Pokémon for you." Dr. Rhythmi.

"Thank you Dr. Rhythmi, I appreciate it." I said as Dr. Rhythmi smiled and exited the room.

Now that I was with Kellyn, I was able to sit down and take a few deep breaths since knowing that he was okay made me feel very relieved. I gently took his hand and kissed it, admiring how peaceful he looked when sleeping. I figured that Kellyn needed his rest without any disturbance, so I attempted to quietly get up and retrieve an Altaria blanket from one of the cabinets near the end of the room when I felt Kellyn holding onto my arm.

"Luana…don't go…" Kellyn muttered.

"Oh Kellyn, I'm just glad you're okay. Don't you worry, I'm not going anywhere, I'll be sitting here until you wake up." I said as I took Kellyn's hand and intertwined it with my own.

I knew that Kellyn had to get his sleep, so I made sure to be as quiet as possible while I admired him for a little, though I soon started to feel sleepy and closed my eyes. I woke up feeling refreshed and saw that Kellyn was now beginning to wake up and he grunted in pain.

"L-Luana…it's you, I'm so glad that you're here. I really missed you." Kellyn said as I kissed his cheek.

"I know, I missed you so much Kellyn…please try not to talk too much, a Ranger is going to be bringing either a Chansey or a Blissey to heal your wound. I'm just glad that you're okay." I said as Kellyn smiled.

"Thank you Luana, it's a good thing that no one else was hurt." Kellyn said as I patted his hair.

"I definitely agree with you, what you did was amazing with how you protected Marcus and everyone else like that. What matters is that you're safe now, I won't be leaving you." I said as the door opened, revealing Keith and a Blissey.

"Hi guys, I was able to find a Blissey after searching for a while. Blissey, go ahead and use Heal Pulse on Kellyn!" Keith said.

Blissey happily hopped over to Kellyn and fired a bright pink beam at him. Kellyn moved back his blanket and uniform, where I could see the deep gash on his chest diminishing until it completely vanished.

"Man…that's really awesome, I'm as good as new. Thank you Keith, thanks Blissey!" Kellyn said as Blissey bowed.

"Not a problem, anything I could do to help you guys out. We'll be leaving you two alone for now! See you guys later!" Keith said.

"Bye Keith, thank you for the help, it means a lot!" I said as Keith waved and headed out the door with Blissey.

"Awesome, I'm all ready to go!" Kellyn said as he immediately tried getting out of bed, though I gently held him back.

"Please Kellyn, I know that you love helping others and you're eager to get back to doing it, but you were attacked only a short while ago. You may have been healed up, but I would be happy if you got the rest you need. I'll ask Chairperson Erma if I can stay by your side." I said as Kellyn laid back down.

"Well…if you insist, then I guess I have no choice. If you have anything to get done anywhere, such as in Pueltown or the Ranger Union, then I can try helping you with whatever it is if you'd like." Kellyn said as I kissed his cheek.

"Oh Kellyn, you're so sweet, I don't have anything to do today. Our Ranger Union quests are almost done and things have been relatively peaceful for the most part." I said as Kellyn smiled.

"So…you'll be snuggling with me, right?" Kellyn asked.

"That's right, you know I will! Let me just go to Chairperson Erma and ask her if I can take today off." I said.

I got up and went to the door, right as I opened it, I saw Chairperson Erma, who looked at me with a smile on her face as I allowed her to enter the room.

"Hello dearies, I was just about to see how Kellyn was doing since Dr. Rhythmi had a Ranger look for a Pokémon to heal him." Chairperson Erma said as she waved to Kellyn while he happily waved back.

"Hello Chairperson Erma, Keith just came in with a Blissey and Kellyn's back to full health!" I said as Chairperson Erma smiled.

"Yup, I'm all good now, though I'd love to get back to work." Kellyn said.

"Oh Kellyn, Luana, there's no need to fret, you'll have the rest of today off. Don't you two worry, whenever either of you are injured, you'll both receive paid time off. If you receive a full recovery, such as in this instance, the two of you will receive the rest of the day off. I hope that means neither of you will worry about getting back to work right away. Take the time off, you two definitely deserve it for all the great work you two have been doing." Chairperson Erma said.

"Thank you Chairperson Erma, we'll take you up on that offer!" I said as Chairperson Erma smiled.

"Yeah, despite wanting to start helping people out right away…both you and Luana are right, I'll go ahead and take that break. Thank you." Kellyn said.

"You're welcome dearies, I hope you two enjoy your day off!" Chairperson Erma said.

"We will, thanks again!" I said as Chairperson Erma smiled and exited the room, leaving Kellyn and I alone.

"Since we have the rest of the day off, would you like to head downstairs and go to our bedroom?" Kellyn asked.

"That's a good idea, I'd love to!" I said as Kellyn got up from the bed.

_'__Oh Kellyn, I always love being around you, not just because of your intelligence, kindness and love, but because of how much the both of us are so strong when considering all that we've faced along the way.' _I thought to myself as we both headed downstairs and entered the bedroom.

Once we made our way inside, Kellyn and I immediately took our shoes off and went right on the bed, snuggling with each other until it was time for us to sleep.

-Kellyn's POV-

I woke up the next morning and sat up feeling refreshed. I turned to look at Luana and smiled when I saw her peacefully sleeping right next to me, she then woke up and rubbed her eyes before turning to me.

"Good morning Luana, you look like you had a good rest!" I said.

"Good morning Kellyn, I definitely did! How are you feeling?" Luana asked.

"Well I'm feeling much better compared to yesterday, we're probably going to do a lot of things today so we'll need to get ready quick!" I said as I got out of bed.

"Sounds fun to me! Also, Chairperson Erma came by an hour ago to drop off your replacement uniform. I went ahead and put it in the dresser for you." Luana said with a smile.

"Thank you sweetheart, I really appreciate you. Let me go ahead and get myself ready!" I said as I kissed Luana on the cheek and opened the dresser to get my uniform.

After I got my uniform, I quickly went into the bathroom and I was finished getting ready after several minutes. As I exited the shower, I placed my hand over where the scar once was, still a bit taken aback by how the wound was healed as if it was never there to begin with. Since I didn't want to keep Luana waiting any longer, I left the bathroom where I saw her waiting for me on the bed, quickly enveloping me in an embrace which I quickly returned.

"I missed you, I'm glad you and Wendy made it out safely by escaping that horrible woman." I said as Luana looked at me and smiled.

"I really missed you a lot, I was going to say the same thing! You and Sven were in serious danger with Julie, there's no telling what awful things she would have done to you guys if she caught you. I'm so relieved that you're both okay." Luana said.

"I know, we've been through so much, but you by my side, I can do anything." I said as Luana blushed.

"I really love how you always give such great support. Let me go and get ready!" Luana said as she went into the bathroom while I sat on the bed.

I went ahead and looked through my Styler to see any quests that were available, though I didn't see anything at the moment, I figured that a quest or two would become available since it was only 10:25 A.M.. I waited a few minutes more and Luana came out of the bedroom dressed and with a grin on her face.

"You look great as always, all set?" I asked.

"I am, let's go ahead and see how Sven and Wendy are doing!" Luana said as we put our shoes on and headed out the door.

After we left our bedroom, Luana went over to Sven and Wendy's bedroom, prepared to go and squeeze their little Eevee toy, however, Sven opened the door before we could get a chance.

"Hi guys, good morning! I figured that you two would be coming to see us! How are you doing?" Sven asked.

"Good morning, we're doing good, is Wendy coming out soon?" Luana asked.

"Wendy's still getting ready, she should be done in a little bit. Are you guys ready to go and help out some citizens today?" Sven asked.

"You bet we are! It'll be nice to see what the public needs our help with." I said as Wendy stepped outside.

"Hello Kellyn and Luana, good morning! Today's going to be a great day, isn't it?" Wendy asked.

"It certainly will be, let's get some breakfast and go to Chairperson Erma!" I said as we all headed upstairs to the cafeteria.

Once everyone made our way to the second floor, we then all went inside the cafeteria and got our usual breakfast as we sat down to eat.

"Nice, this breakfast looks good as always! Was there anything you guys wanted to talk about while we eat?" Wendy asked.

"Hmm…yeah, what was it like being in that castle?" Sven asked as we continued to eat our breakfast.

"The castle itself wasn't that bad aside from the coldness, but the room Luana and I were taken to, which was a small room to the left of the dining table, was eerie. There were tons of Miniremos and shock collars in there…it made me really uncomfortable." Wendy said.

"Wow…shock collars…how sickening. I don't even know what else to say aside from being repulsed with how brutal Team Dim Sun is." I said as Sven nodded.

"I know what you mean, it's sad that they're treating Pokémon that way. I can't imagine the pain they must be going through with the Miniremos or the shock collars." Sven said.

"It's so awful…I'm glad that Rangers are going to apprehend Mary. I hope that they did so already." Wendy said.

"I agree, no one should treat people or Pokémon that way. Speaking of which, there's something that I was wondering…Wendy, remember when we were being 'trained' by Mary? She mentioned that Kincaid was smart for having a double…which means the Kincaid that's in the interrogation room isn't actually Kincaid and the real one…is still out there." Luana said.

"Oh no…Kincaid's still free…that makes things terrifying. Who knows when Team Dim Sun is going to strike next? We have to let Chairperson Erma know!" I said.

We finished off our breakfast and immediately went to the Operator's Room, we soon made our way to Chairperson Erma, who appeared cheerful as ever.

"Hello dearies, good morning, what seems to be the trouble?" Chairperson Erma asked.

"Well Chairperson Erma, Wendy and Luana heard from Mary, a Team Dim Sun admin, that the problem is that the Kincaid in the interrogation room isn't actually him. Based on what Mary said, the impostor is definitely confirmed to be someone disguised as Kincaid who's most likely laying in wait to strike. Can anything be done about him?" I said.

"Hmm, that is very concerning to say the least. Well, I initially didn't want to use such an…invasive method, but I will use a Psychic type Pokémon to check through his mind and see where the real Kincaid might be, or at least a general idea of what he's planning. Also, the Rangers who were sent to Almia Castle captured Mary and we were able to recover the container of supplies based on the indentations the team found in the snow." Chairperson Erma said.

"Oh wow, that's great! Thank you so much Chairperson Erma! We're going to do any quests that need to get done today!" Luana said.

"Sounds good dearies, be careful out there!" Chairperson Erma said as we waved goodbye and headed downstairs.


	55. Chapter 55: Stylers and Paintings

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!**

**A/N: Slight filler chapter, I hope you all enjoy!**

Chapter 55: Stylers and Paintings

"Guys, I have an idea, how about we spend time with our Partner Pokémon? It'll be nice to see how they're doing. It feels like it's been such a long time since we've seen them, it makes me feel bad." I said.

"No need to feel bad, we'll all tag along, right guys?" Luana asked as Wendy and Sven nodded.

"Luana's right, your Partner Pokémon appreciate you as long as you show them love. That's ultimately what matters." Wendy said.

"Exactly, besides that, it's a regulation to only really bring along Partner Pokémon for missions given how intense they could be, since most quests aren't dangerous." Sven said as we made our way to the Pokémon Training Room.

We all entered the room and were thrilled to see our Pokémon, who were just as happy to see us, along with Ben, who waved to us as we entered.

"Pachirisu, Buneary, Raichu and Vulpix, we're here!" I said as Luana and I hugged our Partner Pokémon.

"Aww, it's so good to see you guys! Hello Ben, how are you and Betty doing after what happened with that imposter?" Luana asked as Pachirisu and Buneary continued to play with me.

"Hello everyone, nice to see you all! Betty is out getting some supplies. For the most part, we're coping relatively well. It could have easily ended much worse, but we're okay. Did you guys need to use your Pokémon for a mission?" Ben asked.

"Unfortunately we don't have any missions at the moment, but if we did, then we would happily take our Pokémon with us to help along the way. We're just here to spend some time with our Pokémon." I said.

"Well that's not a problem, let me get a box of Pokémon toys for you guys!" Ben said.

Ben got out a small box and put it on top of the counter, which Luana took as she displayed some of the Pokémon chew toys, which Vulpix and Raichu immediately started to use.

"Thanks Ben! Sven, Wendy, why don't you guys join us?" Luana asked.

"Sure, we'll definitely do that!" Sven said as he and Wendy joined us.

The four of us played with our Partner Pokémon for a while as we gave them affection such as petting them and giving them the love they need. After playing with them for a half hour or so, they became exhausted and soon decided to take their naps.

"Looks like you guys really tired them out! They're going to take a nice nap and then I'll go ahead and feed them before they start training." Ben said.

"Sounds good Ben, thanks for taking such good care of our Partner Pokémon! Say hello to Betty for us, we'll see you!" I said as we hugged our Partner Pokémon goodbye.

"Not a problem Kellyn! It was good seeing you guys, bye!" Ben said as we exited the room.

"That was relaxing, I always love seeing the joy on those adorable Pokémon!" Luana said.

"Yeah, they're all so sweet. Now that we've checked up on them, would you guys like to do some quests?" I asked.

"Definitely, let's head to Pueltown!" Sven said as we exited the Ranger Union.

Along the way to Pueltown, I decided to check my Styler for any quests that were available and discovered one quest, which was to help out at Altru Tower.

"Okay guys, we have a quest to do! It involves us helping out the security at the Altru Tower. They said that they'll be providing more details at the entrance to the building." I said.

"Alright, let's get going!" Luana said as we headed over to the Altru Tower.

When we were close to approaching the tower's entrance, we immediately noticed the problem as most of the entrance was vandalized with graffiti talking about Altru Inc.. As we made our way to the entrance itself, we wondered who could have done this to the entire entrance, but I realized that in a way, it didn't matter since it would be difficult to determine who did it.

"Man, this is a mess…" Sven said as a guard exited the building and approached us.

"Hello there, I'm glad that you guys are going to help me out! I just arrived for work and discovered this graffiti everywhere! Most of the workers who would be here are in the field right now promoting some alternative energy sources. Can you Rangers please help me out?" The guard asked.

"Sure, we can go get some Water type Pokémon to wash off the graffiti!" Wendy said.

"Hmm, that could work. Vien Forest usually has a few of them!" The guard said.

The four of us made our way to Vien Forest and headed inside, looking for any Water type Pokémon that could help with getting rid of the graffiti. After checking every source of water, we eventually came across a pond we hadn't seen before. As we approached it, a Squirtle and a Wartortle popped out.

"Alright, Squirtle, Wartortle, get ready to be captured!" I said as I made loops around both Pokémon.

I was able to capture the Squirtle with ease and it happily walked over to me. However, the Wartortle was combative and tried aiming at me with Water Gun, which I managed to avoid a few times, though my Capture Line got hit and my Styler took four damage. I decided to make a few more quick loops around the Wartortle and I was able to successfully capture it.

"Man, those Pokémon didn't stand a chance against you!" Sven said.

"Hahah, they fought pretty hard I would say! Now that we got some Pokémon to help us out, let's head back!" I said as we made our way back to Altru Tower.

We approached the tower entrance and the guard grinned upon seeing us return so quickly, which made me relieved as I didn't want him to get in trouble for not getting this graffiti off.

"You guys are back, awesome! Can you please have your Friend Pokémon spray water on the glass?" The guard asked.

"Of course! Squirtle, Wartortle, use Water Gun on that glass!" I said as both Pokémon approached the building and sprayed the glass with water, effectively making the graffiti disappear completely.

"Thank you Squirtle and Wartortle!" Luana said as both Pokémon smiled and headed back to their habitats.

"Thanks guys, I really appreciate the help! If my boss saw this graffiti he'd flip out!" The guard said.

"It's no trouble at all, I'm glad we could help you out before your boss arrived!" I said.

"I also wanted to thank you guys for going against Team Dim Sun and their brutality. Who knows what horrible things they would do if it wasn't for your awesome Rangers? They better be careful, after all, Rangers are the protectors of Almia!" The guard said.

"You're welcome sir, we're glad to be of service to the public and Pokémon!" Wendy said.

"That's right, it's something we love to do! What's your name, by the way?" I asked.

"I'm glad to hear that, it's something that everyone appreciates! My name's Frank!" Frank said.

"Well Frank, I'm Kellyn and this is Luana, Sven and Wendy." I said as we all shook Frank's hand.

"It's good to meet all of you, I won't forget how you all helped me in my time of need!" Frank said.

"Anything to help out the public, we'll be patrolling around Pueltown. Let us know if you need anything!" Luana said.

"Great, will do!" Frank said as we waved goodbye and headed to Pueltown to start our patrols.

"That was a quick quest, it's a good thing we helped Frank in time! Now there's just four more quests to go!" I said as Luana and I gave each a high five.

"Nice work guys, you two are on fire! I wonder though, how did the both of you got so great at capturing Pokémon?" Sven asked as we began patrolling the entire area.

"Hmm, I'd say it's because we have each other." Luana and I said simultaneously.

"Awww, they're such a great couple, just like us!" Wendy said as Sven smiled.

"Well thank you Wendy, it is true, after all, Luana is my better half!" I said as Luana kissed me on the cheek.

"You're the better half of me as well. I wouldn't have it any other way." Luana said as I kissed her back.

After several minutes, all of us were finished patrolling the area and as soon as we were about to patrol the area once more, I felt a light drizzle and then a downpour.

"Oh man, I thought Almia wasn't going to have any bad weather today!" Wendy said.

"Well that's not a problem, let's find shelter quick!" I said as we headed to a covered up area filled with flowers.

The design of this little shelter was kind of adorable since it gave an actual roof over the flowers and was made that would so that the flowers wouldn't be destroyed during a fierce storm or went underneath it for protection.

"Whew, made it just in time. That rain's coming down really hard!" Luana said as thunder boomed, making us jump quite a bit.

"Yeah…we're going to have to wait out the storm. We'll need to be careful." Wendy said.

"Don't worry guys, the four of us can handle a thunderstorm!" I said.

After waiting for several minutes, the downpour of rain eventually subsided and we all left the shelter we had taken.

"See? I told you it wouldn't be so bad!" I said with a grin on my face.

"Yeah, you were right, that rain wasn't too bad, plus it didn't really take long for it to finish." Sven said as I soon received a call from Marcus which I answered right away.

"Hi guys, sorry to bother you! Just wanted to let you know that you all did a great job on this quest! Now you guys only got four quests left to go! I'll be sending you guys your Power-Up Data now!" Marcus said.

"Thanks Marcus, we appreciate it, bye!" I said as I hanged up.

Right as I finished talking with Marcus, Luana and I received our Power-Up Data. As I checked which one we received, I discovered that it was two of them, just like they've been recently and saw that both of them reduced attacks from Flying types by three.

"Nice! It's always good to get Power-Up Data, you never know when they'll come in handy!" Sven said.

"That's true, especially with Team Dim Sun seemingly everywhere these days." I said as each of our Stylers gave us a notification.

I checked my Styler along with everyone else to see that President Blake Hall of Altru Inc. would be giving a speech in Altru Park in the next five minutes and that all Top Rangers are required to attend.

"A speech huh? Well we're not far from where he's going to give this speech of his and since we have to attend anyways, we may as well go now." Sven said.

"Yeah, we don't have anything else to do, besides, Altru Park always looks so great. Let's go!" Luana said as we went over to Altru Park.

As we made our way there, we saw a few Altru employees setting up a small white stage along with their company logo proudly displayed on top. Taking a look at their logo, which I never paid attention to, I saw that it was a black flame on the purple background and I couldn't help but chuckle at how fitting it looked considering that the company does oil excavation. Looking around, I noticed that quite a crowd was starting to form, with at least thirty people making their way over to the stand.

"Wow, quite a lot of people want to hear what the president of Altru Inc. has to say!" Wendy said.

"I don't blame them, it'll be interesting to hear what alternative energy methods he's having his company develop. I assume it'll be something like wind power or hydroelectricity. Still though…he really gives me a bad vibe." I whispered as everyone nodded.

"Yeah, I know. Something about him bugs me…his smile doesn't seem genuine, it's like…a façade. He gives me the creeps too." Luana said as we saw Keith approaching.

"Hi guys! Are you all talking about the president of Altru Inc.?" Keith asked.

"We are, does he give you a weird feeling too?" Wendy asked.

"Yeah…he does. I've only talked to the guy once or twice but I felt a bit scared as I was continued to speak with him." Keith said.

"Really? How so?" Sven asked.

"Well…it seemed as if he had some animosity towards me whenever I could even look at him, like when I first met him and went to shake his hand. He appeared to be very angry towards me, but I played it off as him being stressed or something. He doesn't seem like a people person at all." Keith said.

"Geez, he sounds like a grouch." Wendy said.

After ten minutes of waiting, we saw Blake Hall approaching from the left, along with Wheeler. Both Blake Hall and Wheeler went on the stage, however, Wheeler ended up standing right in front of him which made some of the crowd laugh as Blake Hall gently pushed Wheeler to the side. I could be mistake…but his expression looked anything but friendly.

"Hello wonderful citizens of Almia, thank you all for attending this very important meeting! What I am going to discuss today is something that all of you should desperately care about!" Blake Hall said.

"The environment?" A man questioned.

"Correct! The environment is something we should take care of as it's one of our most essential resources and the Pokémon Rangers are proof of that! There are many ways to protect the environment by ensuring that we find other ways to power our vehicles, businesses and homes! I, President Blake Hall of Altru Inc., will do everything I can to make Almia the first of many regions to adopt better energy sources!" Blake Hall said as the crowd cheered.

"This feels…weird." Keith muttered as everyone continued to cheer.

"Thank you everyone! We at Altru Inc. strive to make sure that the environmental impact we and others have caused isn't going to be harmful. But rather than dwell with the past, we'll focus on Almia's wonderful future! Almia has gone through a lot over the years and now is the time for it to go through something that will better our lives!" How does that sound, people of Almia?!" Blake Hall asked as everyone, aside from us, cheered.

"That's great Blake, you're the man!" The crowd chanted.

"Ah thank you for your wonderful cheering, that gives me the drive to work harder and help everyone out more! That concludes this quick speech. I hope you all enjoyed it." Blake Hall said as he quickly stepped off stage with Wheeler in tow as the crowd started to disperse.

"Well, that was an interesting speech…he does appear to care about everyone's safety or at least he gives off that impression." Keith said.

"That's true, he certainly makes it seem like he has the appearance of a concerned environmentalist. Now that we listened to his little speech, let's go ahead and go back to the Ranger Union!" I said as we all went back to the Ranger Union.

After several minutes of walking, we reached the Ranger Union and sat down in the lobby facing the Pokémon Training Room. We were wondering what to do considering that it was only 1:35 P.M. and we didn't have any missions or quests available. I wanted something to do, but I couldn't think of anything at the moment.

"Hmm, nothing to do…I'm bored." Keith said.

"Hah, tell me about it. Maybe we could just go for a walk or something to pass the time." I said as we saw Betty walking towards us carrying a bag in her hands.

"Hi guys, all of you look pretty bored!" Betty said.

"Hello Betty, yeah, we don't have anything to do at the moment, got any suggestions?" Luana asked.

"Well, I was going to get an early lunch with Marcus and Ben but Marcus has a ton of paperwork to do, plus Ben has to watch over the Partner Pokémon. Maybe you guys could join me?" Betty asked.

"Sure, that'd be nice!" Sven said as Keith's Styler started to ring.

"Hello Linda, what's up?" Keith asked.

"Hi Keith, there's a large group of Shiftry in Vien Forest that are causing trouble, can you go and help out the citizens being impacted by them? We'll need a few Rangers to help you out as well." Linda asked.

"Sure, you got it!" Keith said.

"We'll go too!" Wendy said.

"Yeah, we'll help you out Keith!" Sven said.

"Hear that Linda? Sven and Wendy are going to give me some backup." Keith said.

"Good, you're all set. Be careful guys!" Linda said as she hanged up.

"Sorry Betty, it'll be just you, Kellyn and Luana this time. We could do a raincheck if you'd like!" Keith said.

"I'd like that very much, thank you Keith. Be safe!" Betty said as the trio exchanged goodbyes and headed out the door.

"Don't worry Betty, we'll spend time with you!" I said.

"Thanks guys, that really means a lot to me." Betty said as we all got up and headed over to Pueltown.

We soon made it to Pueltown where Betty found a bench to sit at and Luana and I sat down next to her as she took out her food.

"Betty, I have a question to ask you while you're preparing your food. You don't have to answer the question if you don't want to." Luana said.

"Not a problem, go right ahead and ask away!" Betty said.

"Well, Kellyn and I attended President Blake Hall's speech along with the other Top Rangers. Even as he was speaking and appearing to be quite friendly, something about him made us all very uneasy. Have you ever met him or interacted with him before? I'm curious if he creeped you out as well." Luana said.

"Actually, yeah! I remember seeing him in Pueltown's shopping area a couple of days ago. He was with a green haired guy named Wheeler! Even though I didn't talk with either of them, I still didn't feel interested in having a conversation at all like I usually would. Both of them were…off putting." Betty said as she ate some of her salad.

"Wow, even without speaking to them, you could tell how scary they were." Luana said.

"Yeah, I wonder what the employees think of him as a person. As a boss, they might say he's nice and friendly, but to all of us, it certainly seems like a façade." I said.

"Exactly, I don't know about anyone else, but the minute I saw him, I turned around right away and walked away from him." Betty said as she finished off her salad.

"I don't blame you, he really makes all of us nervous. I can't sense any happiness in that man and I'm not sure why." Luana said.

"Maybe he's had a tragic past, that might be a reason, though it's all I could think of. I finished eating so if you guys want, we can head back to the Ranger Union!" Betty said.

"You do make a fair point, but to never let it out and keep it inside isn't healthy if that is the case. For now, heading back to the Ranger Union is a good idea!" I said as we all got up and walked back to the Ranger Union.

Halfway through Union Road, Betty tapped Luana and I on our shoulders as we turned to face her.

"That reminds me, since you two have been in a relationship for so long, what makes it so…good? There's someone I like but…I'm not sure how to let them know. Sorry if I'm being too inquisitive, I figured that you two would be the best to ask." Betty said.

"You're fine Betty, well…I'd say one of the several reasons Luana and I are so good together is because we're compatible. We can relate to one another and we both get along so well." I said.

"Hmm, I get what you're saying, so for a relationship to be compatible with me, or anyone really, then there needs to be something there?" Betty asked.

"That's right! Every relationship, whether it's a friendship or a relationship, needs to have compatibility in some way. I'd say it's what keeps a relationship together." Luana said.

"Correct, to add on to that, if there's no compromise in a romantic relationship, then it'll just be argument after argument. Compromise and understanding are some of the things a relationship definitely needs." I said.

"Oooh, that makes sense, I've actually been meaning to talk to Ben about how I've felt about him but I always feel nervous. Such as wondering if he feels the same way or not, you know?" Betty asked.

"I know what you mean. I would tell him how you feel, after all, the way you're stressing out isn't a good thing. You and Ben are both nice and I think he would really appreciate how you told him your affection for him." Luana said.

"Luana's right, it wouldn't be good to just bottle up your emotions. Tell him how you feel, you'll be glad you did." I said.

"That's true, thanks guys, I'll let Ben know!" Betty said as we reached the Ranger Union.

"Not a problem, we're glad we could help! Let us know if you need anything, we'll be in our bedroom relaxing for a bit!" I said.

"I will, thanks again!" Betty said as she waved and headed to the Pokémon Training Room.

"I hope that she's able to tell Ben how she feels, then again, I think she'll be okay, don't you?" Luana asked.

"I agree, she'll be just fine as long as she feels confident with telling Ben about her feelings. I just hope Ben reciprocates the affection, otherwise, Betty will be heartbroken." I said.

"Yeah, I know what you mean, unrequited love can be pretty sad. What were you thinking of doing in the meantime?" Luana asked.

"Well, we could go say hello to the Top Operators and see how they're doing." I said as Luana grinned.

"That's a good idea, it'll be nice to check up on them, let's go!" Luana said as we both headed upstairs.

Luana and I soon reached the Operator's Room, where Marcus, Linda and Rhythmi were at their workstations discussing something. They waved us over once they spotted Luana and I, looking very eager to share some information.  
"Hi guys, we got some great news to share, Professor Hastings, Vatona and Nage managed to extract some small pieces from the three gems. It took longer than they thought, but they were able to get enough for the two of you." Linda said.

"Woah, really? That's awesome, did Sven and Wendy get their Stylers powered up yet?" I asked.

"No, unfortunately, anymore extractions will lead to the gems being completely destroyed. Even though the gems are pretty big, most of their surface area can't even be used, so Vatona, Nage, and Isaac had to actually create their own machine to extract a small piece from each gem since normal tools wouldn't work." Rhythmi said.

"To add on to that, you two are going to be great regardless of what Pokémon you guys capture, just watch out for each other like always!" Marcus said.

"We certainly will. Thank you for information everyone, Luana and I really appreciate it. We're going to head on over to the lab now and get a look at the powered up Stylers. Before we go, I was wondering where Chairperson Erma is, usually she's here around this time so it's odd to not see her here." I said.

"Chairperson Erma is currently in the lab right now with everyone else, she went there a few minutes ago." Linda said.

"Thanks Linda, we'll be on our way!" Luana said as we headed to the lab.

Luana and I entered the lab after walking down the hallway, seeing how happy everyone was made us feel just as joyful, especially since they were able to successfully remove some shards from the gems.

"Hello dearies, I'm glad you two could make it! Come see what our wonderful researchers have done this time!" Chairperson Erma said as we entered the room.

Various machines were all around the room and quite a few of them were broken. In the center of the room was a somewhat large machine that Vatona was cleaning up. Professor Hastings quickly walked over and showed us an assortment of shards in both of his hands.

"Kellyn and Luana, you two are smart, I'm sure you know what these shards are!" Professor Hastings said, excitement in his voice.

"Yes sir, those are shards extracted from the Red, Blue and Yellow Gems!" I said as Professor Hastings smiled.

"Correct! As you two can see, extracting those shards were very difficult. However, we made this machine to retrieve a tiny amount of shards to put in your Stylers. These shards will enable you two to capture any Pokémon without fail, even if it's being mind-controlled!" Professor Hastings said as Isaac entered the room.

"Kellyn! Luana! Good to see you guys!" Isaac said.

"Hello Isaac, nice to see you as well! Looks like all of you did hard work as usual for the Ranger Union!" I said.

"Hahah, you bet! It was really tough to figure out a safe technique to remove some pieces of the gems without seriously damaging them, but after we brainstormed for a while, we figured out how to do it! Vatona, Nage, go ahead and unscrew their Styler tops so the small shards can be put in!" Isaac said.

Vatona and Nage unscrewed the top of our Stylers, revealing an area to put the shards in. Luana and I watched as Professor Hastings put the red, blue and yellow shards into our Stylers with Vatona and Nage quickly closing them back up.

"Woah, that's really awesome! Team Dim Sun better watch out, the Pokémon Rangers are going to take them down!" Luana said as Chairperson Erma smiled.

"That's right Luana, you two are now the only ones in the world with Stylers capable of catching Pokémon that are even mind controlled! Hmm, what should we call such amazing Stylers?" Chairperson Erma asked.

"Hmm, well, Vatona and Nage were the ones who created the machine that extracted the shards we need…how about the Vatonage Stylers?" Professor Hastings said as Vatona and Nage smiled.

"Vatonage Stylers…yeah! I like that name, it has a good ring to it. What do you think Luana?" I asked.

"The Vatonage Styler…it certainly sounds nice!" Luana said.

"Hm, let me try hearing how it sounds…wherever that Shadow Crystal is, Team Dim Sun will be nearby. But with Kellyn, Luana and the Vatonage Stylers ready to save the day, it won't be long until Team Dim Sun is vanquished and Almia is safe once more." Chairperson Erma said as we all clapped.

"Wow Chairperson Erma, you sounded just like an announcer!" Vatona said.

"Well thank you dearie, I'm glad everyone liked it!" Chairperson Erma said.

"Now that their Stylers are powered up, we're now feeling exhausted from the work we did." Nage said.

"That's understandable, the four of you did some great work in order to power up Kellyn and Luana's Stylers. As for now, the Rangers are still searching for the large Shadow Crystal but once they do find it, we'll let every Top Ranger know. For now, you can all rest easy." Chairperson Erma said.

"Ah, that reminds me, we can also test out their Stylers on the small Shadow Crystals we've obtained from the Ranger Base and from Sven." Isaac said.

"Wonderful! Vatona tested one of the small Shadow Crystals by putting it within range of a cluster of shards and it turned a translucent blue! Let's see what will occur with some of the Shadow Crystals that were in Team Dim Sun's equipment!" Professor Hastings said as he brought some small Shadow Crystals.

"That's right! Kellyn, Luana, please go ahead and bring your Stylers close to the Shadow Crystals. The process won't take long at all!" Nage said.

Luana and I moved our Stylers closer, observing the small Shadow Crystal going from a deep purple to a lovely clear blue. The Shadow Crystal shard was turned harmless, but the problem involved whether the charged up Stylers would be able to impact larger crystals or not.

"Man, these Stylers are amazing! Do you mind handing us one of those larger shards?" I asked.

"Hahah, yes, they are very nice Stylers. I'll go and look for a larger piece of the Shadow Crystal. It won't take me long at all!" Professor Hastings said as he began to rummage through some cabinets.

After some quick searching, Professor Hastings was able to locate the piece of Shadow Crystal, which was a rather decent sized chunk about the size of a Diglett. Luana and I brought our Stylers close to the chunk of crystal and were glad to see the crystal turning a translucent blue color. Of course, all of us gave each other high fives considering how much of an impact this will be in bringing down Team Dim Sun.

"Wow, just like always, you guys did a great job! These Stylers are going to really make a difference with fighting Team Dim Sun! It's just a shame that we have no idea where their main base of operations is…or where Kincaid is located." Luana said.

"Yeah, both situations are really troubling. Kincaid has proven to be dangerous several times with the Pokémon he's summoned on us. Since he's most likely going to be where the Shadow Crystal is, then that'll be worrisome given how many machines he might make with it. He won't be a match for us Top Rangers though, so he'll need to be careful!" I said.

"Don't worry, you're all great at what you do. If the two of you need anything, let me know, I'll be heading to Pueltown for some shopping!" Chairperson Erma said.

"Thanks Chairperson Erma, we will!" Luana said.

We said goodbye to everyone in the lab and headed to the Operator's Room. As usual, everyone was working hard and we went downstairs as we both tried figuring out what to do since it was still early and nothing else needed to be done. Luana and I sat down in the lobby for a few minutes talking as Sven and Wendy came over to us.

"Hi guys! You two look pretty bored!" Sven said.

"Yeah, we are! Neither of us have anything to do but it feels odd just sitting around." I said.

"I know what you mean, well how about—" Wendy started to say before my Styler began to ring, which I quickly answered.

"Hi guys, sorry to bother you, just wanted to you guys know that you two have the last four quests remaining! Sven and Wendy have five left as well. They're available right now!" Marcus said.

"Woah, thanks Marcus, we'll go and do them right away!" I said as I hanged up.

"Oooh, good thing we got those quests to do! I was beginning to get bored as well!" Sven said.

"Well let's get going!" Luana said as we headed out of the Ranger Union.

We reached Pueltown after a walk down Union Road and I checked the Styler to see the details of the first quest before heading onto the other ones.

"Alright, so the first quest we need done involves us helping out a stall owner at the marketplace. Apparently someone stole some of his merchandise. He'll provide us with more details once we meet with him." I said as we headed over to the man's location.

We arrived at the marketplace within minutes and noticed a man waving us over, clearly distraught. When we made our way closer to him, his expression went from worried to overjoyed.

"Man, am I glad you Rangers came to help me with my quest. My name's Vincent. I was selling quite a number of paintings here before I went on a lunch break. When I came back, most of my paintings were gone!" Vincent said.

"That's terrible! Do you know if anyone was in the vicinity when the theft happened?" Sven asked.

"Yes, my cousin Thomas saw what happened. I think he went elsewhere to look for a Ranger without knowing that you guys were coming to help. Ah, there he is!" Vincent said as Thomas walked up to us.

"Hi there Rangers, I saw what happened to my cousin's paintings when I was on my way over here. Some guy in a black and purple uniform swiped five of them and took off running. His uniform was like a…jumpsuit or something, he also had a black hat on. He went off in the direction of the Chroma Highlands." Thomas said.

"A black and purple uniform? That's Team Dim Sun all right. We'll head over there now, we're going to do what we can to get your paintings back safely." I said.

"Thank you Rangers! Be safe!" Vincent said as we headed to the Chroma Highlands.

Upon arrival, we spotted a man hiding by a small bush holding a small stack of paintings. When he noticed us, he gently placed the paintings down and bolted, with Luana and I pursuing him while Wendy and Sven retrieved the paintings.


	56. Chapter 56: The Final Quests

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!**

**A/N: Contains spoiler for the final quest, don't read this chapter if you want it to not be spoiled for you!**

Chapter 56: The Final Quests

Luana and I continued to chase after the man for a short while until he eventually tripped on a branch and tumbled down. We were able to restrain him before he could take off running again and we saw that he was in fact, a Team Dim Sun grunt.

"Grr…looks like I was caught…I just…I just needed to make some money. Team Dim Sun treats us like garbage!" The grunt said.

"While that may be true, that doesn't give you the right to steal!" I said as we got the grunt on his feet.

Luana and I then went over to Sven and Wendy where they were carrying the paintings. Now that all of us were as a group, we went back to where Vincent and Thomas were. On the way back, the grunt continued to struggle for a bit before giving up. Even though it may have been easier to have a Staraptor bring him to the Ranger Union, we figured that he might feel some remorse for his theft. Both Vincent and Thomas were very relieved once we approached them.

"Yay, you guys are back! Is…is that the thief?" Vincent asked as the grunt grumbled.

"He certainly is, he gave us quite a bit of hassle when we chased after him. We figured bringing that taking him back to where the theft occurred might make him feel obligated to apologize." Luana said.

"I…I'm sorry. I only stole the paintings because of how stingy Team Dim Sun is with money and our sleeping quarters. But…now I realize stealing isn't right. I'm very sorry." The grunt said.

"Well that's quite alright with me, you may have stolen from my stand, but you apologized. Thank you." Vincent said.

"Y-you're welcome. I'm glad I was able to apologize." The grunt said as Wendy and Sven handed over the paintings to Vincent.

"Ah, I accept your apology! I'm happy that the paintings are okay! Good, it would have been awful if the paintings got scuffed." Sven said.

"Certainly, I appreciate the help all of you have been. I hope you all have wonderful days!" Vincent said as Thomas waved to us.

"We will, thank you!" Wendy said as we walked to the entrance of Union Road.

"Okay, what we're going to do is take you to the Ranger Union. Once we reach there, someone will need to speak to you regarding any information you know about Team Dim Sun. You'll need to tell them what you know about Team Dim Sun. We're sorry that you had to resort to stealing, but if you help us, we'll help you." I said.

"B-but…Team Dim Sun is really dangerous…are you sure I could provide any information to help you guys out?" The grunt asked.

"Of course! Any information that you give us can be helpful to the Ranger Union." Luana said.

We all continued walking for some time as the grunt appeared deep in thought about what he should say, if anything.

"One way you can help us is if you know where the real Kincaid's at. We're still looking for him and it's frustrating to think of where he could be." I said.

"Well, I don't know where Kincaid is either, but he's always been trouble for us grunts." The grunt said.

"Really? I'm not surprised at all. What sort of trouble did he do?" I asked.

"Well…he'd always have us do backbreaking work while he does nothing at all. Kincaid always has to yell at us for the littlest things and loves being in control of us." The grunt said.

"Wow, that's awful! Don't you worry, just tell the interrogators at the Ranger Union what you told us and they'll understand your predicament and what took place. You may have stolen some merchandise and also work for Team Dim Sun, but as I said, just tell them everything you know, they're not bad people." I said.

"I understand sir, I'll go ahead and do that." The grunt said as we saw the Ranger Union within view.

All of us soon entered the Ranger Union, with Sven and Wendy taking the grunt up to the interrogation room while Luana and I stayed in the lobby. After a few minutes, Sven and Wendy came back downstairs.

"Sorry guys, but we'll be talking with the grunt in the interrogation room since Chairperson Erma would like the two of you to do the last quests." Wendy said.

"That's not a problem guys, just be careful. That grunt may seem nice but he could try pulling a fast one on you two. We'll be on our way!" I said.  
"Yeah, that could be possible. Thanks for the tip guys, see you!" Sven said as they headed upstairs while Luana and I left the Ranger Union.

As we were about to head back to Pueltown, Luana got a call on her Styler and saw that it was from Marcus, which she quickly answered.

"Kellyn, Luana, hello again! Great work on the last quest, I'll be sending you two the Power-Up Data right now! You two have just three quests to go! Keep it up!" Marcus said.

"Thank you Marcus, we appreciate it. Bye!" Luana said as she hanged up.

After the call was finished, Luana and I got the second extension for our Capture Line, as well as Power-Up Data for reducing Poison type attacks twice. We then walked down Union Road and were a few feet from the Ranger Union until I received a call from Chairperson Erma.

"Hello Chairperson Erma, how can we help you?" I asked.

"Well dearies, we have some wonderful news for you two regarding your Stylers, please come to the lab when you can!" Chairperson Erma said.

"Oh, really? We're right by the Ranger Union, we'll be there!" I said.

"Wonderful, you two are going to like this a lot!" Chairperson Erma said as she hanged up.

"Wow, she sounds pretty happy, it must be something pretty amazing. Let's go!" Luana said as we both headed up to the lab.

Luana and I reached the lab and soon entered inside, seeing Chairperson Erma, Isaac, Vatona, Nage and Professor Hastings with a Dratini. Chairperson Erma and Professor Hastings were checking some information written on notes while the other three researchers were petting the Dratini. Once we entered, the Dratini spotted us and we happily pet it, as everyone in the room turned to us.

"I'm glad you two are here dearies. Vatona, Nage or Isaac, please explain the amazing technology you three developed!" Chairperson Erma said as she stepped to the side.

The three researchers looked at each other, wondering which one would be speaking before they all agreed to let Isaac speak.

"Well, Kellyn, Luana, your Vatonage Stylers were upgraded recently with the increased Capture Line, so we decided to have a way to charge it up. That way you two can capture Pokémon even faster! All you have to do is release the Capture Line as if you two are making loops around a Pokémon. Then, either one of you can hesitate the Capture Disc for a few seconds before you complete a loop around a Pokémon. Doing so will give your Capture Line a combination of red, blue and yellow while also increasing the Pokémon's friendship meter slightly, this will be stage one. Holding it down a few seconds longer will allow you guys to use stage two and will make the Capture Line more thicker and increases the friendship meter much more than stage one. Another thing to note is that either one of you can charge up the Styler, meaning if Luana is off to the side, she just needs to continuously hold her Styler, this will hesitate the Capture Disc and allow it charge it up and vice versa. As you guys can see, we have Vatona's adorable Dratini here to be a demonstration. Do either of you have any questions? We'll be more than happy to explain!" Isaac said.

"Nope, we understand completely, right Luana?" I asked.

"You bet Kellyn! You can go first Kellyn, then we can try doing it so you charge it up off to the side if you'd like!" Luana said.

"I like how that sounds, alright Dratini, let's try out this charge function!" I said as the Dratini slithered forward.

Everyone stepped to the side as I began to make a loop around the Dratini, which of course, stayed still. After not moving the Capture Line for a few seconds, I saw the line change colors as Isaac gave a thumbs up. I then held the Capture Line in place for a bit longer as it reached stage two. Now that the Capture Line was fully charged up, I began to make loops around the Dratini. After making around five charged up loops, the Pokémon was captured and everyone began to cheer.

"Alright, great work Kellyn!" Luana said.

"Thanks Luana, you go ahead and try now! I'll be over here!" I said as I stood a few feet back.

I went ahead and released the Dratini, of course, since it belonged to Vatona, it simply stayed in the same spot. Luana went ahead and began to make a loop around the Pokémon just as I did, however, I decided to place my hand on my Styler and noticed the Capture Line with the same color pattern when I was charging it. Luana made loops around the Dratini as I held my Styler down, making sure that it maintained its charge. After a few loops were made around the Dratini, it wasn't long before it was captured as everyone clapped their hands.

"Wonderful work you two! You're both ready to face any challenges that come your way! I see that you're also nearly done with all of the official Ranger Union quests as well! Marcus told me it's just three quests left! The other two require you to help out citizens, though it doesn't state specific details as of right now. The very last quest is something even I can't determine. I'm not sure what that last quest is." Chairperson Erma said.

"Wow, hard to believe it's only a few more quests to go. Luana and I are going to do great work like always! I don't find it to be too troubling that there isn't any information on the last quest, I'm sure it's going to be enjoyable! Luana, are you ready to go do the other quests that we have?" I asked.

"You bet I am, we'll be heading out now. Bye everyone!" Luana said as we petted the Dratini.

After saying goodbye to everyone, Luana and I exited the Ranger Union and reached Pueltown after walking for some time. Considering that the quest was the last official Ranger Union quest, it would make sense that Luana and I would speculate on what it could be.

"Say Luana, what do you think that last quest could be? If even Chairperson Erma doesn't have any information on it, then it has to be a really important quest. It's really piqued my interest now!" I said.

"Hmm, the quest could be anything and I'm interested in wondering what we'll have to do for the last quest. It's sort of mysterious, you know?" Luana asked.

"I agree to that! It's interesting to ponder about what the quest itself could be. Well, you and I are almost done, we'll just need to finish these last two quests, then we'll see the final quest is and what we'll have to do!" I said.  
"That's right, now let's see this next quest…okay, so for this next quest, you and I need to go to the Ranger School and help Janice out. She'll provide details once we're there!" Luana said as she finished reading the quest out.

"Oh nice, it'll be great to see how everyone's doing. It's been a while since we've been there!" I said.

"Definitely, let's go help Janice out right away!" Luana said.

We headed through the Vien Forest and Vientown and soon made our way to the Ranger School. Luana and I opened the front gates and walked up the stone steps, upon reaching the top, we saw the Ranger School within view and also spotted quite a few piles of leaves as we made our way inside. As we entered, a guard had us sign in on a notepad just like last time and Luana and I headed upstairs where Janice usually was.

After reaching the top of the stairs, we spotted a Styler recharger and Janice nearby. Since I didn't have a chance to recharge my Styler beforehand, I went ahead and did so with Luana waiting next to me. The machine only took a few seconds to reenergize my Styler back to its energy of one hundred and twenty points of health. Now that my Styler was recharged, Luana and I headed over to Janice, who was sitting down on a stool facing away from us.

"Hello Ms. Janice, it's Kellyn and Luana! We're here to help you out!" I said as Janice turned around with a smile on her face and her hand bandaged up.

"Hi Kellyn and Luana, it's good to see you two! As you two can tell, my hand isn't able to do any cleaning. I injured it only minutes ago when I sprained it raking leaves and getting the Charmander to burn them. Can you two please help me out?" Janice asked.

"Of course Janice, we'll be more than happy to help you! Kellyn and I will be done in no time!" Luana said.

"Thank you both so much!" Janice said.

"Not a problem, we'll get going now!" I said as we both headed downstairs to the wide open field.

Luana and I looked around for any Charmander and spotted three of them nearby. As we headed over to them, two walked over to us while the third one started running away. Acting quickly, I captured the third Charmander in two loops and then decided to charge my Styler up to its second stage on the other Pokémon to test it out a little more. After making only one loop around the two other Charmander, they were captured and the three Pokémon quickly walked over to us.

"Awesome work Kellyn! Okay Charmander, we need your help with clearing these brown leaves up!" Luana said.

"That's right! We'll head over here first!" I said.

Luana and I went over to the stone staircase that led to the Pledge Stone and had the Charmander burn a few piles of leaves. As the Charmander finished burning the piles of leaves, we looked to where the school entrance was and saw more piles of leaves, so we headed over there quickly.

"Alright Charmander, use Ember on those leaves!" Luana said as the Charmander did as instructed.

Soon enough, all of the leaf piles were gone and we thanked the Charmander for helping us out. Afterwards, we released them, with the three Pokémon walking a few feet away from us.

"Nice, a quest completed! Let's go back to Janice and let her know the leaves are all gone!" I said.

We both went back upstairs to Janice and saw her sitting down in the same spot, though this time, she was facing us and smiled softly as we approached her.

"Hello Ms. Janice, Kellyn and I were able to clean up all the leaves thanks to the help of the Charmander!" Luana said.

"Wonderful! Thank you both so much for the help! I'll make sure to be careful with my hands so that I don't strain them again!" Janice said.

"Yeah, that wouldn't be good at all! Is there anything else you need before we leave?" I asked.

"No, that's all I needed, thank you once again Kellyn and Luana, it was good to see you two after all you've done for Almia!" Janice said.

"Not a problem, we're glad we could help!" Luana said.

"That's right! If you do end up needing any more help later on, just submit a quest and we'll help you out!" I said.

"That's a great idea, I'll make sure to keep that in mind!" Janice said.

"Good, we'll be on our way, bye Ms. Janice!" I said.

Luana and I waved and both headed downstairs, exiting the Ranger School shortly afterwards as we headed out of the gate.

"That was a fun and simple quest, I enjoyed helping out Janice!" Luana said.

"So did I, it feels especially good considering that her hand needs to rest! Let's go to Vientown and see how everyone's doing!" I said as my Styler began to ring.

"Hi guys, great work on helping out Janice! I'll send you two your Power-Up Data now." Marcus said.

"Thanks Marcus, we were just about to head to Vientown for a bit before doing the next quest!" I said.

"It's funny you mention that, your next quest is in Vientown! You'll need to help out the Ranger Base. Only two quests left, you guys can do it!" Marcus said.

"The Ranger Base? Awesome, we'll be headed there right now, bye Marcus!" I said.

"Bye Kellyn, bye Luana, keep up the great work like always!" Marcus said as he hanged up.

"Perfect, I wonder who needs our help at the Ranger Base! Let's get going and find out!" Luana said as we both headed over to the Ranger Base.

Halfway to reaching the Ranger Base, Luana and I received the Power-Up Data, both of which reduced damage of Rock type attacks by three. After a few minutes of walking, we both reached the Ranger Base and headed inside where Barlow and Ollie were sitting down by a table.

"Hi guys, we were told that someone at the Ranger Base needed our help with a quest. There weren't any specific details but we're more than happy to help!" I said as Barlow and Ollie turned around.

"Hi Kellyn and Luana! We're the ones who need help with the quest, we were hoping you two would show up!" Barlow said.

"That's right, we needed some help with Elaine. See, I asked her earlier today what sort of Pokémon she likes the most. I assumed it would have been a Magneton or maybe even a Raichu, however, her favorite Pokémon is actually a Dragonair. Elaine's at the Ranger School teaching a whole bunch of students at the moment but she'll be back within two hours. If it's not too much trouble, I'd like for you guys to please help me with presenting a Dragonair for her. She'd be really happy with seeing one. From what I've read, Dragonair can be found in Almia Castle." Ollie said.

"Not a problem Ollie! We'll get right to it!" Luana said.

"Almia Castle isn't too far from here. We won't be long!" I said.

"Thanks guys, let us know if anything comes up along the way, alright?" Barlow asked.

"Will do, we'll be heading to the castle now!" I said as we both exited the Ranger Base.

Luana and I immediately looked around for a Staraptor and were glad to see one flying around by the entrance to Vien Forest. Luana went up to it and began to make some loops around it, quickly capturing the Pokémon with no trouble. The two of us hopped on the Staraptor and made our way to Almia Castle, reaching there in about fifteen minutes. We soon landed near the castle entrance and we got off of Staraptor as it flew away. Thankfully, there was another Staraptor nearby once we were finished and Luana and I went into the castle.

Luana and I spent a few minutes looking through every room of the first floor and we didn't find any Dragonair. We then decided to head to the second floor and weren't able to find anything. Feeling stumped, I decided to think of where a Dragonair could even be and then I remembered that we got Raichu and Vulpix in this castle, which made me smile.

"What's up Kellyn?" Luana asked.

"Oh, sorry! I was just thinking of where a Dragonair might be in this large castle when I reminisced about us getting Raichu and Vulpix here. Remember how injured Vulpix was? That was awful." I said as Luana nodded.

"Yeah, I still remember that. I'm glad you and I were able to help Vulpix out, I would have felt awful if she died. If we didn't find her in that room, then poor Vulpix wouldn't have made it." Luana said.

"That's a good point, us exploring those rooms was definitely a good thing. Hmm, speaking of rooms…you remember that weird statue made of ice that we saw?" I asked.

"Yeah, I do! It was really strange with how out of place it looked." Luana said.

"I agree! You know how we saw that Dratini in that room? What if its parents are nearby? Most younger Pokémon have parents watching over them. How about we give that room a look just to see?" I asked as Luana kissed me on the lips.

"Now that's smart thinking! Lead the way!" Luana said as we made our way to the aforementioned room.

When we entered the room, we noticed that it was the same as before, with that odd statue in the back and the Dratini playing with one of the several vases. About twenty feet away, we saw something dark blue swiftly moving through some of the pottery and it soon stuck its head up, revealing itself to be the Dragonair we were looking for.

"Alright, let's be very careful Luana. If we get too close to the Dratini, that Dragonair is going to flip out on us." I said as Luana nodded.

"Don't you worry, I'll be right by you whether things get rough or not." Luana whispered.

The two of us didn't approach the Dragonair considering that it was near its child and despite this, it soon noticed us as it fired a stream of hot blue flames. We were able to dodge the flames without issue and the Pokémon was enraged by this as it destroyed a nearby bookshelf and began to destroy more bookshelves. Terrified, Luana and I went behind a large pile of pottery and the Dragonair continued its rampage. Once it was finished destroying the room, it looked around for us.

"Woah... Luana! I don't know what other attacks that Dragonair could have, but we'll need to be hidden for now. Even if we tried capturing it when its turned around, it'll just became enraged again." I whispered.

"Don't worry Kellyn, I'll be as careful as possible. However…that Dratini is nothing like its parent at all, it's really docile when we first encountered it and it's still the same. Maybe that Dragonair did something to that Dratini's real parents, most Dragonair do not act like that." Luana said in a hushed tone.

"You could be right…we'll need to be very careful." I said as the Dragonair quickly slithered around the room.

The Dragonair looked around for Luana and I for several minutes. In the meantime, I was thinking of the best way to approach this situation when I saw the Dratini huddled in the corner.

_'__Let's see…a highly aggressive Dragonair that attacked us without provocation…the Dratini didn't engage us in battle and right now it's fearful of this Dragonair. Perhaps Luana and I can sneak past it and find a Pokémon to assist us.' _I thought to myself as I motioned for Luana to go to the door.

Luana nodded and we both peeked out from the pile of vases, noticing that the Dragonair wasn't looking around for us and it didn't pay the Dratini any mind. All of the bookshelves in the room were now destroyed and the Dragonair began to ruin a few ice covered tables. Luana and I sneaked over to the door and left the room as we began our search for a Pokémon to assist us.

"That was scary. Kellyn, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Luana asked.

"Yes, I feel that a Ghost type Pokémon is going to help us out a lot with capturing that Dragonair." I said.

"That's right! Let's look around for a Ghost type, going to the foyer with that Dratini still trapped there will take too long. There must be a Ghost type on this floor!" Luana said.

"Great, let's go ahead and start searching!" I said.

Luana and I searched through the castle and discovered the same hallway where we enjoyed the view. However, there was the same Froslass that Ice used in our battle against him. The Froslass noticed us and quickly hovered over. Luana and I engaged it in battle and dodged as the Pokémon made purple flames circle around it as a barrier. I began to charge up the Styler so Luana would have an easier time with capturing the Froslass. Soon enough, the Styler was charged up to its second stage and Luana started making loops around the Froslass. Compared to when we first fought it, the friendship meter didn't need to be filled up as much considering how easy Luana's great capturing skills and the charged up Styler made things. As the Froslass's friendship meter made it halfway through, it started to charge up an Ice Beam and quickly fired it directly at me, which I just barely managed to dodge. Luana soon made a few more loops and she was able to capture the Froslass as it hovered over to us.

"Great work, that was a tough battle, but I knew you could do it!" I said as Luana smiled.

"Thanks Kellyn, I can always count on you! That Ice Beam got really close as well." Luana said as we went back to the room with the Dratini.

"I know, that was pretty scary. We're almost to the room with the Dragonair, I hope that Dratini is okay!" I said.

As we entered the room, Luana and I saw the Dratini hiding by the pile of vases we were in a few minutes ago, while the Dragonair looked around for it. We carefully walked up to the Dragonair and Froslass got into position.

"Froslass, use your Poké Assist to stall that Dragonair!" Luana said as Froslass used its Ghost Poké Assist.

Dragonair immediately stopped moving and became enshrouded in ghostly mist. I took advantage of this by starting to make loops around the Pokémon, with Luana quickly charging up the Styler to its second stage. I made loops around Pokémon as Froslass made more ghostly mist around Dragonair. Dratini slithered over to us and hid behind me, with the Dragonair soon getting captured after making dozens of loops as the Froslass warped away due to its Poké Assist ending. I went up to the Dragonair and looked for any wounds it may have had. Considering the way it acted earlier, it's possible it got injured in some way. I checked the Pokémon for a few minutes and I wasn't able to find any indication it was injured or attacked. Nevertheless, we were both glad the Pokémon was tame now and the Dratini seemed at ease when it slithered back to the vases and continued playing.

"Alright, Dragonair, we'll need you to come with us. A good friend of ours love your kind very much, and she'd be happy to see a Pokémon as graceful as yourself." I said as the Dragonair nodded, looking much more mellow compared to before.

As we turned to leave, the Dratini from earlier slithered in front of me and hopped up and down eagerly.

"Looks like the Dratini wants to meet Elaine as well. It looks so adorable too, now we just have to take it along, right Kellyn?" Luana asked as I grinned.

"Hmm, well since the Dratini and you both look pretty happy…I guess we don't have a choice but to bring the cute little Dratini along! I'll have to capture you little guy!" I said as the Dratini stayed still, allowing me to capture it after only a few loops.

"Yay! Now we got the Dragonair plus a Dratini!" Luana said.

"Hahah, we certainly do! Say, that reminds me, Dragonair, do you know what happened to Dratini's parents?" I asked as Dragonair nodded its head.

"Were they…killed?" Luana whispered as Dragonair shook its head.

"Hmm, did they…abandon Dratini?" I asked in a hushed tone as Dragonair sadly nodded its head.

"Aww…poor Dratini. It didn't have anyone to look after it until you came along." Luana said as Dragonair shook his head.

"Huh? Were you perhaps looking after Dratini until someone came along for it?" I asked as Dragonair nodded.

"That makes sense! You attacking us…was your way of us proving our strength." Luana said as Dragonair looked at the ground, clearly feeling awful about attacking us.

"No need to feel bad. It's a good thing you wanted to prove how we were as Rangers. If Elaine's interested, she'd love to take care of a Dratini!" I said as both Pokémon nodded.

"Great, now that we have the Pokémon we need, let's get out of this castle!" Luana said.

All of us soon exited the castle as we found our way outside and spotted the same Staraptor flying around. I wasted no time in making loops around the Pokémon and quickly captured it. Despite two people and two Pokémon being on one Staraptor, this Pokémon had no trouble in taking us to the Ranger Base, which we reached within minutes. Luana and I thanked the Staraptor as it flew away and we headed inside the Ranger Base as I held the Dratini while the Dragonair followed us.

"Hi Ollie! We're back with a surprise! What do you think?" I asked as Ollie turned around and smiled.

"Hello guys! Woah…so this is what a Dragonair looks like, I've never seen one in person! Elaine's going to love this Pokémon, she'll be here in about ten minutes or so." Ollie said as he pet the Dragonair.

"Yeah, Dragonairs are pretty awesome! We're glad that we weren't late to show Elaine the Dragonair." Luana said as Barlow exited the sleeping quarters with his eyes immediately widening.

"Hi Kellyn and Luana, I see you guys brought back an impressive Dragonair!" Barlow said as he sat down.

"Yup, we arrived just in time since Elaine is going to be coming soon. We also have a cute little Dratini who was really eager to come along with us!" I said.

The Dratini hopped out of my arms and slithered around quickly, looking at all the various things in the room with curiosity. Luana and I decided to sit down with Barlow and Ollie until Elaine arrived back while the Dragonair managed to hide itself by the Operator's counter.

"So guys we may as well talk while waiting for Elaine, what's new?" Barlow asked.

"Well, we were able to get our Stylers upgraded so Kellyn and I can charge them up to capture Pokémon easier than before!" Luana said.

"Yeah, it's very helpful. It's already come in handy and it'll be even more useful once that Shadow Crystal is found and all of us go to take on Team Dim Sun. They'll be pulling out all the stops on us! What's new with you guys?" I asked.

"That's a very good point, Team Dim Sun has to be planning something big. They haven't been around Vientown for a while. Wherever those guys are going to be located, I know that everyone, especially you two, will do their best in bringing Team Dim Sun down. There isn't much new with us aside from Crawford, Elaine and Jen going to the Ranger School to give lessons to future Rangers and Operators. Though Crawford does make some really lame jokes, everyone still appreciates their help." Barlow said with a chuckle as the Dratini hopped into Luana's arms.

"We're glad everything's good with you guys. It's good that the Ranger School has everyone giving some lessons every now and then, the classroom is nice and all, but being able to see someone that's in the job itself is always better since it can help students know if the job's right for them or not." I said as Elaine entered the Ranger Base.

"Hi everyone! I just came back from the Ranger School, it was so fun teaching so many students about being a Mechanic! I even got to take apart a whole bunch of equipment and show everyone what makes it function. Crawford's a little bit behind me." Elaine said.

"Hi Elaine, good to see you! Sounds like you had a real blast at Ranger School!" Luana said as Crawford entered.

"Woah, it's like a reunion! Kellyn, Luana, it's been a really long time!" Crawford said as he hugged us for a few moments.

"Haha, it definitely is a reunion since we're seeing you guys here. You're as chipper as ever Crawford!" I said.

"You bet I am! But now that you mention it, man, I'm feeling bushed." Crawford said as he sat down alongside us.

"Ollie, do we present the Dragonair now?" Luana whispered.

"Yes, then we'll show her the Dratini. I think she'll be really happy seeing both Pokémon." Ollie mumbled as Elaine raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm, sounds like the three of you are talking about something really secretive. What is it?" Elaine asked.

"I'll tell you what it is, just make sure you close your eyes!" Ollie said as Elaine covered her eyes.

Dragonair came out from behind the counter with Crawford smiling upon seeing it, knowing about Ollie's gift for Elaine. Dratini was also eager to see Elaine and both Pokémon went up to her.

"Err, sweetheart, how long do I need to keep my eyes closed?" Elaine asked as Ollie chuckled.

"Not for long Elaine, go ahead and open your eyes!" Ollie said.

"Oh? How come? Is it a present for me?" Elaine asked as Ollie thought of the right words.

"Elaine, it's something Ollie thought of with his heart. You'll love it!" I said as Elaine opened her eyes.

Ollie gave us a thumbs up as he was grateful that we helped him out with capturing the Dragonair and when he tried to think of what to say. Elaine's expression definitely melted his heart.

"Woah, a Dragonair…and a Dratini as well? This is awesome…I…I don't know what else to say but thank you!" Elaine said as both Pokémon snuggled up around her.

"I'm happy that you like your present. The Dragonair and Dratini are wild Pokémon, but the Dratini looks really eager to be with you." Ollie said.

"It certainly does. Dragonair, thanks for letting me see you. Ollie, Luana and Kellyn, thanks for letting me finally get to see a Dragonair in person, I really appreciate it!" Elaine said as Dragonair slithered out of the Ranger Base and flew away.

"Not a problem, it was thanks to Kellyn and Luana that you were able to see a Dragonair!" Ollie said.

"Oh Ollie, you're so sweet! I knew that this was all your idea!" Elaine said as she kissed Ollie on the cheek while Dratini quickly moved around the room.

"Aww, the two of them are so cute! Looks like the Dratini feels the same way!" Crawford said as we all laughed.

"Speaking of Dratini, it looks like it wants to stay with me. Is that right Dratini, do you want to be friends with Ollie and I?" Elaine asked as the Dratini nodded.

"That's awesome, we're glad the two of you now have an adorable Dratini! We know it'll get lots of love!" I said.

"It definitely will, what a cute Pokémon! Thank you everyone, this is a really great gift!" Elaine said as the Dratini hopped in Elaine's arms while Ollie petted it.

"I got a great way that we can all celebrate, how about we all have lunch?" Barlow asked.

"Sounds good to us, right guys?" Crawford asked as we all agreed.

Luana and I prepared food for everyone despite Barlow's insistence. After the food was done, we headed back to the main area of the Ranger Base where we all ate, while Dratini had some Pokémon food and cuddled with Ollie and Elaine. Once we were finished eating, we all chatted for a short while as we caught up with each other. Crawford needed to help out a couple of citizens so he promptly left after we said goodbye to him, while Ollie and Elaine took their new Dratini for a walk which left us with our appreciated former leader.

"Man, you guys have been doing all sorts of cool stuff! I always knew that you and Luana were something special. The fact that you two are such great Top Rangers reassures me that the both of you are going to keep being awesome!" Barlow said.

"Thank you Barlow, having you as our leader really helped us out on understanding about what it's like to be a Ranger. I mean Ranger School did teach us what it's like to be a Ranger with a test every now and then but getting actual advice from you definitely helped." I said.

"Kellyn's right, there just aren't some things the classroom can teach you!" Luana said as Barlow grinned.

"Hahah, Kellyn, Luana, thank you for the kind words, I'm glad I was able to teach you two so much! I've been the leader of this base for a long time and a lot of Rangers have come through here. I'm not afraid to admit that both of you are by far the greatest individuals I've ever worked alongside with. With you two ranking as my favorite Rangers and Crawford coming in second, I can definitely say that I'm happy you two worked for my Ranger Base and still continue to help out Almia every day." Barlow said.

"Wow, thanks Barlow! We're just as grateful to have learned from you and we've been successful on every mission because of the things you taught us." Luana said as her Styler went off.

"Hi guys, the last quest is ready for you guys to do whenever you want! I'll be sending you guys the last Power-Up Data now!" Marcus said.

"Thanks Marcus, we appreciate you letting us know!" Luana said.

"Not a problem, bye guys!" Marcus said as he hanged up.

Luana and I checked our Stylers as we received the last four Power-Up Data, two of them reduced Ghost type attacks by three, while two of them reduced Steel type attacks by three as well. We were both ecstatic to finally have all the official Ranger Union quests completed since it meant our Stylers were fully upgraded.

"Well now, that's really cool! Just like I said, you two are something special. So, are you two going to do that last quest now?" Barlow asked.

"It definitely is, I'm glad our Stylers are completely upgraded, it'll help us out against Team Dim Sun! While Luana and I have done a lot, I do have to say that you and everyone here are also pretty awesome for helping out citizens with their needs. In fact, I think that every Ranger should be like you guys! To answer your question though, we don't have to do the quest right away, do we Luana?" I asked as Luana laughed.

"No Kellyn, we definitely don't. You and I need to relax a little." Luana said.

The three of us talked for a little while longer about some of the previous tasks we had done, such as figuring out what was making the Pokémon in Pueltown act up, or about the Cargo Ship incident. After some time, Luana and I decided to go as we realized we had been there for almost an hour and a half already, not counting the quest itself.

"We're sorry Barlow, Luana and I have to go now. It was great seeing you and everyone else. Make sure to not stress about us, we're going to be fine. The two of us have faced many things as a team and while yes, many of them were scary or terrifying, Luana and I were still able to do them together because of our bond." I said as Barlow smiled.

"That's very sweet, best of luck you two! Be careful about any Beedrill in the area, their stingers are awful!" Barlow said.

"Don't you worry Barlow, Kellyn and I will be fine, just make sure not to stress out too much!" Luana said as Barlow chuckled.

"Good, I'm happy to hear that. I'll try not to stress, take care guys!" Barlow said.

"Sounds good to us, bye Barlow, we'll let you know if we need anything!" I said as we both left the Ranger Union.

"Let's see what the next quest says…okay, the last quest requires us to help out a guardian that protects forests around the world. A forest guardian…that sounds like…Celebi!" Luana said.

"We…we have to help out Celebi? Ah, I can see why, the ground of Vien Forest is still scorched even months later. So…we just need to help out Celebi, I assume it'll be inside the forest since the forest is so damaged." I said.  
"That's right, it's certainly an interesting quest that we have to do, but you and I can do it!" Luana said.

The two of us headed into Vien Forest and patrolled around for a bit, not finding Celebi even in some heavily damaged areas. After some searching, we came to a grassy clearing and noticed a small, green Pokémon.

"Well Luana, we…we found Celebi." I whispered as we both stared at the Pokémon in awe.

Celebi was fluttering around the area as it inspected the damage to some trees, which were now husks. Luana and I were still surprised upon seeing such an amazing Pokémon up close, though we needed Celebi's help to restore the forest.

"Kellyn…should we just approach Celebi? I feel like that won't work, what do you think?" Luana said in a quiet voice.

"Hmm, I'm not sure, Celebi might flee whether we approach it or not. I think the best thing to do would be waiting to see what it does." I said.

Luana nodded and the two of us hid behind a large tree as we continued to watch Celebi for a bit, though the only thing it did was hover around and inspect the various foliage. Soon enough, Celebi turned around and noticed us and it giggled before it flew off. Since Celebi was the best Pokémon to help restore the forest, we immediately followed it as it traversed through the area. For several minutes, Luana and I chased Celebi throughout the forest as we dodged a few Pokémon here and there. After a bit of running, I had an idea.

"Luana, how about you or me try cutting Celebi off? At this rate, we'll be going in circles!" I said.

"Good point, I'll go on up ahead! I know a shortcut!" Luana said as she went to my left while I chased Celebi.

After some more running through the forest, I saw Luana jogging towards Celebi and I. Celebi stopped and made itself a barrier of leaves. Luana then hesitated a bit as I charged her Styler up to its second stage. Once the leaf barrier was gone, Luana made loops around the Pokémon for quite a while, bringing its friendship meter up to fifty five percent. After she made a few more loops, I took over, with the Styler going back to its normal strength due to us switching. Before either of us could react though, Celebi launched a seed up into the air and it soon came back down quickly, causing a plethora of thorns to come out from the ground.

_'__Man, that attack is rather small, but I'm still glad those thorns didn't come any closer, or else that would have been painful.' _I thought to myself as Celebi appeared shocked for a moment.

I used the extra seconds to continue making loops around Celebi, even continuing to make loops as it made another leaf barrier. Being cautious with the loops I made and avoiding any damage, I was able to slowly fill up its friendship meter to ninety percent. I did a few more loops to complete the capture and soon enough, Celebi was caught. Luana was glad the capture was complete and we both observed the forest along with Celebi, taking in the various damage, with this area in particular having fallen trees and burned shrubbery all around us.  
"I know Celebi, this forest got impacted really bad by that fire. We're upset about the forest being charred too…we were actually hoping you could help us with that. It would be nice to see this lovely place restored to its former glory." Luana said as Celebi danced around the two of us.

After Celebi finished its little dance, it then hovered a few feet above us and cast the entire area in a green mystical glow. Luana and I watched in amazement as the scorched ground became lush grass once more and even the destroyed trees vanished before new ones took their place. Though the forest may have been destroyed for a long time, it appeared that it was now back to normal.

"Celebi, thank you! The Pokémon of the forest and the people of Almia will appreciate how lovely the forest looks now!" I said.

"Thank you Celebi, everyone was really disheartened upon seeing how devastated the forest was. Thanks to you though, people will enjoy taking a walk through Vien Forest now that it's back to normal!" Luana said as Celebi smiled and instantly vanished.

After Celebi left, Luana and I explored the forest and saw how beautiful it looked now, flowers were blooming, the grass was green, and the trees were just amazing.


	57. Chapter 57: Catching up with friends

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!**

**A/N: Our lovely main characters catch up with close friends and loved ones in this chapter! Sorry about the late update, the story is near completion!**

Chapter 57: Catching up with friends

"Wow…what an amazing Pokémon, it's like the forest was never ravaged in the first place." I said.

"Yeah, that's exactly what it feels like, it makes me happy to see the forest look alive again! I know that everyone at Vientown will be feeling the same way! It'd be nice to tell everyone about how great the forest looks, but I think it'd be best left as a nice surprise, you know?" Luana asked.  
"I agree, I can already imagine how happy everyone would be when they walk into the forest." I said as we walked to Pueltown.

I ended up getting a call as we were halfway there, and I quickly answered seeing that it was Marcus.

"Hi Marcus, what do you need?" I asked.

"Hello Kellyn and Luana, congratulations on clearing the last quest! Great work on capturing a Legendary Pokémon like Celebi as well! I assume that since Celebi was captured…the Vien Forest is now back to normal?" Marcus said.

"Hello Marcus, thanks for the kind words! It was a great battle that we had with Celebi, but we were able to catch it. As for the Vien Forest being restored to its former glory…well, I'll let you come see how it looks like!" I said.

"Wow…thanks guys, you certainly have all of our gratitude for doing something so amazing!" Marcus said.

"Hahah, not a problem Marcus, though Celebi was the one to restore the forest, Luana and I did great work in chasing after the guardian. Either way, we're just glad we could help!" I said.

"I'm certain that every Pokémon and person is grateful for how you two restored the forest. Chairperson Erma is going to love to see it!" Marcus said.

"She certainly will! Luana and I will be headed to Pueltown for a bit of relaxation but let us know if you need anything!" I said.

"I will, thanks guys!" Marcus said.

"Not a problem, I figured that Luana and I would need a break after all the hard work we've been doing. Talk to you soon Marcus!" I said.

"You two certainly do, see you guys later!" Marcus said as I hanged up.

"Well, now that we're finished, how about we head on a date?" I asked.

"That's a great idea, let's go!" Luana said.

Luana and I walked to Pueltown, soon reaching there after a few minutes. We both viewed the various cafes in the area and headed into the Pokémon café upon seeing it open. As expected, the place was jam packed with people, though John saw us and waved us over.

"Kellyn, Luana, so nice to see you! I can see you two are working hard!" John said.

"Hi there John, good to be here. Yeah, we've definitely had a lot to do recently. We were hoping to get a seat here when someone's finished with their food. Do you mind if we stand around at the bar in the meantime?" Luana asked.

"Ah there's no need to do that, I've actually just finished getting some contractors to expand the building towards the back. There's some extra booths and tables back there, would you guys like to head there?" John asked.

"Sure, thanks John!" I said as John directed us to the newly installed area, which was expansive and well lit.

In this area, there were quite a few people here, though it wasn't jam packed as the main area, allowing us to have some privacy. John allowed us to choose anywhere to sit, and we went to the booth in the corner. After we sat down, John handed us menus with a smile on his face.

"When you two are ready to order, please let me know." John said.

"Thanks John, we will!" Luana said as John did a small bow and went to help another customer.

Luana and I looked over at the menu for a bit as we wondered what to get. In the meantime, John came back and handed us our waters, which didn't have any ice. After that, John had to assist another customer as we continued to see what to order.

"Let's see…I'm thinking of getting the berry salad, what about you?" I asked.

"Hmm, the sautéed berries with carrots sound good!" Luana said as John came back to our table.  
"Hi John, we're ready to order." I said.

"Wonderful, what will you two be having?" John asked.

"I'll be getting the berry salad." I said.

"As for me, I'm going to get the sautéed berries with carrots." Luana said as John wrote both orders down.

"Wonderful choices, I'll get the chefs working on your orders right away." John said as he headed off to the kitchen area.

Luana and I talked for a bit, we were really happy that all of the official quests were done and she and I began to quietly ponder where the Shadow Crystal could be.

"Hm, maybe the Shadow Crystal is somewhere we've already been." I said.

"Definitely, it could just be located somewhere we don't have access to. I vaguely remember the opening the Shadow Crystal left…something like that has to be hidden extremely well." Luana said.

"Yeah…it is strange though, that team of Rangers has been looking for that crystal for a while…but they haven't found it yet. It can't be on that facility we went to, we explored every room in that place." I said.

"That's true…hopefully they find it soon, all we can do for now is wait for them to find something." Luana said as we saw John walking over.

"Hello, sorry about the long wait, here's your food." John said as he placed our food down.

"You didn't take long with us, besides, your place is filled with people as usual. I can't even imagine running a restaurant, especially with how some of the guests can be sometimes. It's not always easy to make a customer happy." I said.

"Thank you Kellyn, it can sometimes be very difficult dealing with customers, but it's always rewarding to help them out with any discrepancies in their order. Speaking of which, I can hear a customer complaining from here. Enjoy the food!" John said as he walked away.

"What you said was very true, it's not always easy to please someone. I'm just glad I'm able to always please you…" Luana said with a smirk.

"Well Luana, you're great at many things, and you making sure I'm satisfied is one of them. Let's eat." I said as we both started eating our food.

Soon enough, Luana and I were finished eating and John came back over with a small dessert.

"Ah, you two finished! I hope you two have room for dessert!" John said.

"Oh wow, thank you John, we appreciate it!" Luana said.

"Not a problem, you two enjoy your dessert and I'll go get the bill." John said as he went to the front of the restaurant.

The dessert itself was perfect for two people, a simple and sweet looking vanilla cake with chocolate chips on the inside and the top definitely helped with its look. Luana and I each fed each other pieces of the cake and finished it in no time. After a few minutes of waiting and feeling full, John came back to us with the bill.

"Here's the bill, pay for it whenever you'd like." John said as a chef called him over for assistance.

The bill totaled nine hundred Pokédollars for the food Luana and I ordered, not including the drinks or cake as it was free. Luana and I chipped in for the nine hundred Pokédollars and we included a one thousand Pokédollar tip. Now that we were finished, Luana and I headed back to the entrance and handed John the bill, which he gratefully took.

"Thank you once again Kellyn and Luana, everyone here appreciates all you've done for the Almia region. Come back anytime!" John said.

"Not a problem John, we enjoyed ourselves as usual. We'll always do our best to keep Almia safe!" I said as we both waved goodbye and exited the café.

"As expected, going on a date with you is the best. I had a wonderful time with you, as always." Luana said.

"Thanks Luana, I love going on dates with you. I always enjoy spending time with you." I said as Luana smiled.

"I know, I feel the same way. What were you thinking of doing now?" Luana asked.

"Hmm, well, we could head to the Pueltown Clinic and see how my parents are doing. If you'd like, we can head to your family's place too with a Psychic type. It's only 3 o' clock so we won't be too long there. Would you like to do that?" I asked.

"That's a great idea, though my family is working at the moment, we could check up on your parents and I'll call my family when we're done. Let's go!" Luana said as we walked through Pueltown hand in hand.

In a few minutes, we reached the Pueltown Clinic and headed inside, with a male receptionist waving us on through. Considering that we didn't know where either of my parents would be at the time, we figured that approaching the receptionist would be the best option.

"Hi there, I was wondering if you could help us out. My parents are doctors at this hospital, we were hoping they were on their break at the moment. Here's my Ranger card." I said as I showed the receptionist my identification.

"Alright, let me go ahead and see where they're at." The receptionist said as he began typing on his computer before getting on the phone by his desk.

Luana and I waited for the receptionist to finish his conversation, which only took a few minutes. After he was done, he wrote down something on a sheet of paper before handing it to me.

"Okay, I just got off the phone with one of their coworkers. Both of them are having lunch right now in the cafeteria. Here's the directions to get there." The receptionist said.

"Thank you very much for the help!" I said as the receptionist nodded and continued to do work on his computer.

Luana and I headed to the cafeteria that was on the second floor based on the directions provided by the receptionist. By one of the windows on the right hand side were my parents sitting down and eating their lunch. As Luana and I approached the table, my mother noticed us and waved us over, as did my father once he turned around.

"Kellyn, Luana! So good to see you two, come on over and sit down!" My mom said as we sat down next to my parents.

"Hi mom, hi dad. Luana and I were in the area and decided to see how you two were doing. How's work going?" I asked.

"Well thanks guys, that was really nice of you to check up on us. Work's going pretty good, we just finished patching up some Pokémon with damaged wings and feet. We only have a couple hours before we head home." Dad said.

"That's great, Kellyn and I have been busy doing a number of quests, some of them were a bit difficult but we enjoyed doing them!" Luana said.

"Yeah, we don't really have much to do as of right now. We're really sorry for not seeing you guys more often." I said.

"Oh you guys, there's no need to apologize for that! You two are out in the field dealing with Team Dim Sun and other problems in the region. We understand that you guys aren't always able to be at the Ranger Union or home!" Mom said.

Hearing this made me relieved that my mom wasn't upset with me, though she and dad have always been understanding. Luana and I took the time to spend the next few minutes talking with my parents about the upgraded Stylers we have, when I remembered those odd statues we've seen in the Almia Castle and in the small cave in Vien Forest.

"Hmm, mom, dad, that reminds me, Luana and I noticed a statue in Almia Castle and one located in a cave in Vien Forest. Do you guys know what those statues are? The one in Almia Castle was appropriately like a block of ice and the other one we saw was a combination of rocks." I said.

"Yeah, both of them had peculiar yellow circles on the front." Luana said.

"Seeing them was very odd…they may have blended in well with the environments but they still felt out of place." I said as Mom and Dad thought for a moment.

"Hmm, suspicious statues with yellow circles on the front…ah, I know what you two are talking about! Those are the Regi Trio! You guys saw Regice and Regirock, you guys should try to find Registeel as well, they're supposedly part of an amazing legend." Dad said.

"The Regi Trio…I've heard of them, though I never thought I'd see one in person. I'm guessing they won't be dormant any longer once we get the right Field Move to use on them." I said.

"Wow, I think it's pretty cool that we saw two of them already, even if it is their inactive forms! If we already saw the two of them, then I wonder where Registeel would be…it wasn't anywhere that we've been so far." Luana said.

"Hm, that's a good point, that's okay though, we'll find it eventually!" I said as the PA system rang out for my parents to report to the surgery section of the hospital.

"Uh oh, that's our cue. It was good to see you guys, we'll have to get going!" Mom said as we all exchanged goodbyes and hugs.

Immediately after that, my parents left the room quickly, since they were gone, Luana and I left as well. We both headed downstairs and then exited the hospital as I tried wondering where we should go next.

"It was nice to see your parents. They're always working so hard to help others. I'm thinking of giving my family a call to see how they're doing." Luana said.

"I know, it's great that my parents love what they do. Go ahead and call your family, make sure to take your time, I'll be right here." I said as Luana smiled.

"Thanks sweetheart, I'll just be a second." Luana said as she proceeded to call her mother.

After a few seconds of waiting, Mrs. Rakua picked up the phone and the two talked for a short while. I was glad to see Luana being treated like an actual person by her mother, it put a smile on my face to see her talking with her mom so joyfully. Luana's mother had to go and said goodbye to her daughter while Luana did the same.

"Sorry about taking so long, is it alright if I call my dad and Terry?" Luana asked.

"Oh Luana, you didn't take long at all, go ahead and call your family. I don't mind at all!" Kellyn said.

"You're always so sweet, thanks for being so caring." Luana said as she went to call her father and brother.

The next few minutes went by rather well as Luana spoke with her family members. Just like Mrs. Rakua, her husband also had a kind demeanor compared to how she was treated previously. Terry was travelling around Almia and he was excited to say that he was now in Boyle Volcano trying to understand Drifloon migration patterns. After a few more minutes had passed and soon enough, Luana finished speaking to her family members and had a smile on her face.

"All ready to go?" I asked.

"Yes I am, thanks for waiting!" Luana said.

"Not a problem, let's go!" I said as we headed over to the Ranger Union holding hands.

Luana and I reached the Ranger Union after walking down Union Road for a few minutes. After that, we both went inside and sat down in the lobby as Luana appeared deep in thought.

"You know, I've been thinking about the conversation we had with your parents regarding Registeel…it makes me wonder where it could be." Luana said.

"Hmm, you're right. We've seen Regirock and Regice in appropriate enough places…but Registeel might be hidden somewhere in a factory…or somewhere else that has a lot of metal. If two of the Regi trio have been seen in Almia, that means the third one is here as well. The only problem is trying to find out where it is." I said.

"Yeah, I think we'll find it eventually, you and I just have to keep looking! In the meantime, maybe we could see how our Top Operator friends are doing. How does that sound?" Luana asked.

"That sounds like a great idea, it'll be nice to talk with them if they're not too busy." I said as we headed to the Operator's Room while I glanced at my Styler, seeing that it was 3:25 P.M.

Luana and I made our way to the third floor and saw Rhythmi, Linda and Marcus getting up from their seats after taking their headsets off. Three more Top Operators sat down in their seats as our three friends began to chat amongst themselves. Marcus turned his head in our direction and waved to us and made his way to Luana and I. Rhythmi and Linda said a quick hello to us as they headed downstairs.

"Hi Kellyn, hi Luana, what's up? Are you two doing alright?" Marcus asked.

"Hi there Marcus, we're doing good. Luana and I were just coming up here to say hello and see how you guys were doing." I said.

"Glad to hear you guys are doing alright, I was just heading out to lunch by myself since Linda, Murph, Rhythmi and Keith usually tend to eat together. Marcus said.

"Oh really? Have they at least asked if you'd like to tag along?" Luana asked.

"It's funny you say that, I eat with them every once in a while, but no matter who I'm with, I just feel like I'm preventing them from being romantic with one another. As you can imagine, Keith and Rhythmi don't really get much free time with one another since Keith's usually in the field." Marcus said.

"I understand what you mean. Luana and I would also be a bit uncomfortable if we tagged along with either of them. The four of them are quite nice as you already know, but I agree with what you said, if I were you, I would also feel like we're intruding on them since they're usually going to want to be romantic with one another." I said.

"That's a good idea, I think I'll try hanging out with Ben and Betty next time. For now though, would you two like to join me?" Marcus asked.

"Of course! Luana and I had food already, but we'll go with you so we can talk and enjoy ourselves!" I said as we all headed downstairs.

We exited the Ranger Union and walked down to Union Road, reaching Pueltown in minutes. Once that was done, all of us walked over to a couple of benches and sat down.

"Thanks for tagging along with me once again, I really appreciate it. It's nice to have some extra company." Marcus said.

Not a problem, we're glad to spend time with a friend!" Luana said as Marcus began eating some of his sub.

The three of us stayed there for several minutes talking and enjoying each other's company. Before long, Marcus finished his lunch and was starting to head back to the Ranger Union.

"Well, time to get back to work. Thanks again guys!" Marcus said.

"Actually Marcus, you don't have to head back to work right away, do you?" I asked.

"No I don't, why?" Marcus asked.

"We have a suggestion. If you'd like, we can explore Pueltown a little bit and simply admire the beauty. How about that?" I asked.

"That sounds really nice, sure, let's go ahead and do that!" Marcus said.

The three of us then went on to look around Pueltown and it seemed to cheer Marcus up a little bit. Compared to how Marcus felt earlier, he definitely was in a more cheerful mood now.

"So Marcus, even though you've obviously seen Pueltown before, do you feel better now that you walked around the area with us?" I asked as Marcus smiled.

"I certainly do. Thank you Kellyn and Luana, I really needed that friendly interaction. I forget how lovely Pueltown is sometimes." Marcus said.

"Not a problem Marcus, you already know how Pueltown is an amazing place to see and explore just like the rest of Almia! I'm glad we were able to help you out when you really needed it." I said as Marcus smiled.

"Haha, yeah, I love the scenery here, it's so peaceful. By the way, I'm sure Chairperson Erma has spoken about this beforehand, but that Shadow Crystal still hasn't been found yet, has it?" Marcus asked as I sighed.

"No, unfortunately not. It'd be great to know where it is, especially because of how much the other Rangers have been searching for it. Once that Shadow Crystal is found, we'll storm wherever it's located and take down the boss of Team Dim Sun." I said.

"Don't worry, they might be able to find it soon enough!" Luana said.

"I hope so, it's rather worrying and even a bit frustrating to think about where the Shadow Crystal could be. I mean it's troubling enough to think that they're most likely making tons of devices in order to control Pokémon, but the fact that we have no idea about the Shadow Crystal's location is something that must bother every Ranger." I said.

"Exactly, I know you guys are worried about where the Shadow Crystal could even be, I know that I'm troubled by it as well. However, I know I shouldn't really be worried at all." Marcus said.

"Huh? Why's that?" Luana asked.

"Well, it's like when the three gems were stolen. You guys didn't really seem hopeless at all, sure you guys were wondering where they were, but ultimately the two of you as well as Sven and Wendy got them back safely. It'll happen this time as well, I'm positive of it." Marcus said.

"Thanks Marcus, you're right…it does appear like finding the Shadow Crystal is going to take a while, but you're right, it'll happen soon enough!" I said as Marcus smiled.

"You bet it will, aside from that, I know that when the time comes for you guys to take down the boss, it won't be too difficult for any of you to do so. Kellyn, Luana, Sven and Wendy…you guys are the four Top Rangers who have done so much for the Almia region. Don't get me wrong, Keith has done great things for both the Almia and Fiore regions and so have all of the Rangers, Operators and Mechanics. But you two in particular have really helped out the region of Almia and the Ranger Union so many times without hesitation." Marcus said.

"Thank you Marcus, we really appreciate your kind words. It makes us glad to know that we have so many people as our friends." Luana said.

"Not a problem guys, the work you've all done should definitely be appreciated, though I know you guys don't let your good deeds get to your heads." Marcus said as we began to walk through Union Road.

"Well, you're right, it can't be easy to bring down so many Team Dim Sun grunts and admins. Kellyn and I don't really like to boast about our accomplishments, but it does feel good to help out others and stop the bad guys." Luana said.

"Definitely, I can't even imagine how bad Almia would be if Team Dim Sun was everywhere. It seems like their forces are dwindling slowly compared to before." I said.

"Yeah, it was really unsafe to go around town some nights. Now I've rarely seen any of those grunts loitering around here." Marcus said.

"You can say that again…it's a good thing that people feel more safe now, that's the way it should always be. For instance, that cargo ship incident alone was terrifying…it really gave people an idea of what Team Dim Sun could do if they really decided on putting their plans into motion. I can only imagine how much that terrified other people, but I'm glad that everyone's more at ease now." I said.

"Exactly, like I said, I know that you guys aren't going to have any trouble with bringing Team Dim Sun down! Let's go ahead and head back to the Ranger Union, there's not much else to really do, besides, it's already 3:40 P.M.!" Marcus said.

"What? It's that time already? Let's head back quickly!" I said.

"Oh man, I seriously can't believe we've been out for that long!" Luana said as we all ran back to the Ranger Union.

After some running, Marcus, Luana and I made it to the entrance of the Ranger Union.


	58. Chapter 58: The Altru President

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!**

**A/N: The final chapters of this story will be coming soon! I hope you all love this chapter!**

Chapter 58: The Altru President

"Phew, sorry about that Marcus, we didn't know we held you back for such a long time." I said.

"Hahah, you guys don't need to be sorry at all! We arrived here with plenty of time to spare." Marcus said as we all headed inside.

"Good, we would have felt pretty bad if you got in any trouble." Luana said.

"Oh come on you guys, I wouldn't get in trouble even if I did get a bit late! Since there's nothing else to do, how about we stay here for a bit?" Marcus asked.

"Sure thing, that sounds like a good idea to me!" I said as we all sat down in the lobby.

The three of us chatted for an hour about various things, such as the quests we did and the Pokémon we caught, eventually though, the topic of love came up, making Marcus very flustered.

"So you guys might want to know who I'm dating…well…she's a wonderful woman." Marcus said.

"Hmm…do you mind if we guess?" Luana asked.

"Not at all, go ahead!" Marcus said.

_'__Well obviously it's not going to be Wendy, Betty, Linda or Rhythmi. Maybe it's another person at the Ranger Union that we don't know too well. Or it could very well be another woman who doesn't work here at all…hm…" _I thought to myself.

"Hmm, does this mystery woman work at the Ranger Union? I was thinking she may not be someone we speak with or otherwise know." I said.

"Very good question, I will give you two a hint, she has a relative who works here." Marcus said.

"A relative? A lot of our friends have relatives…it could be anyone of them! Unless… it's someone we know or have met recently, which simplifies who it could be." Luana said as we both thought for a moment.

"Marcus, do you mind giving us another hint about who this woman could be?" I asked.

"Hmmm, maybe I will!" Marcus said.

"Oh come on Marcus, I know you can do better than that!" I said as Marcus chuckled.

"Alright fine, the only hint you two will get is that this girl has blond hair!" Marcus said as both Luana and I grinned.

"Awesome, you're dating Melody!" I said as Marcus turned a deep red.

"H-how did you find out so quickly?" Marcus asked.

"Well, there aren't many women in Almia with blond hair. Lucky you Marcus, she's a very friendly woman!" Luana said.

"Yeah, I really am lucky to have her. We've been dating for almost a year now and I'm loving every second of it!" Marcus said.

"Wow Marcus, that's really sweet! It's awesome that the two of you are together, I'm certain you and her will be together for years." I said.

"Thanks for the kind words guys, everyone really appreciates how nice you two are and I don't blame anyone for feeling that way." Marcus said.

"Hahah, it's not a problem, it feels good to be nice to others!" Luana said.

"You bet it does. By the way Marcus, I've been thinking about all the times the Ranger Union staff or the complex itself was attacked. Is it possible that you could mention to Chairperson Erma about increasing security in some way? Maybe one of the staff members could have a Psychic type Pokémon by the door for when visitors enter. That way, the Pokémon can check them for any weapons or see if they're suspicious." I said.

"Wow, I like how that sounds, that'll be just one of the first steps to keeping others safe. Nice thinking!" Luana said.

"I agree, that's a really good idea Kellyn! I think Chairperson Erma will like that plan a lot, it'll definitely help keep the Ranger Union safe from anyone trying to take over it." Marcus said.

"Well I'm glad that you all considered such a decision, because I also think it's a smart choice." Chairperson Erma said as we all turned to face her.

"C-chairperson Erma, how long have you been there?" Marcus asked as Chairperson Erma giggled.

"Long enough to listen to all of you discuss on if there should be a Psychic type guarding the Ranger Union to protect people and the building itself. That's a seriously splendid idea and will definitely make visitors and staff alike feel safe from any possible threats!" Chairperson Erma said.

"I'm glad you like the plan. My main focus and concern is to ensure that everyone is kept out of harm's way if another problem were to take place. Having a Psychic type assist the Ranger Union would be a great step towards helping others." I said.

"I agree completely with that statement. In fact…Kellyn, Luana, you're both being promoted to Ranger Rank 9 due to the great work you guys have done and will continue to do." Chairperson Erma said.

"Wow Kellyn, we did it, we got another rank up!" Luana said as she embraced me while I did the same.

"Yeah, you got that right! It makes me glad to know that we're all doing our best to make an impact and help everyone out in some way." I said.

"All Rangers should feel that way, I'm certain that everyone in Almia appreciates what the two of you have done. I can say that the two of you have helped Almia in so many ways, from the Cargo Ship, to getting the three gems back, to restoring the Vien Forest back to its glorious state. Everyone at the Ranger Union is very important to me thanks to the work they've done and you two are certainly no exception." Chairperson Erma said.

"Thank you Chairperson Erma…we're touched by your words. Kellyn and I are glad to be Rangers." Luana said.

"It's good that you two are so passionate about helping others, that's something to be admired." Chairperson Erma said.

"You're welcome, we're glad doing what we do." I said.

"That's a wonderful attitude dearie, especially considering that there hasn't been any word from the Rangers about the whereabouts of the Shadow Crystal…it's rather concerning about where it could be." Chairperson Erma said.

"I understand what you mean, maybe it's just somewhere they haven't looked yet." Luana said.

"Well…now that you mention it, the Rangers haven't checked the research facility you guys were at and they didn't go through the Altru Tower either." Chairperson Erma said.

"Huh? How come?" I asked.

"The team of Rangers decided to check through every town first despite my orders of telling them to look for areas not as obvious. I actually informed them to go through the entire research facility today and the four of them were busy combing through Vien Forest. I don't understand why they would think a giant Shadow Crystal would be in the populous cities, but they did receive their training in Oblivia. To be frank, it bothered me a lot, but the group were adamant about exploring other areas first instead of Altru Tower. I even informed their leader and she told me there wasn't any problem in their training, but rather that they never had to deal with anything of this scale. Not to worry, I'm going to let them know the first thing in the morning that they need to go to Altru Tower since that's one of the only places they haven't checked. Right now, they're scattered all over the region gathering intel on any sightings, they'll be back by nightfall." Chairperson Erma said.

"Good, thank you Chairperson Erma, hopefully they'll be willing to go to Altru Tower tomorrow. It might be sixty floors, but if the rest of the floors are spacious as the lobby, then those Rangers have a lot of searching to do." I said.

"Actually, before Altru Tower finished construction, I took a brief tour to see some of the floors where the employees would be working. I have to say, there were a lot of rooms on those floors and it puzzled me as to why Blake Hall didn't want cubicles to be built instead. At this rate, those workers are isolated from any interaction with one another." Chairperson Erma said.

"Wow, that's awful. Speaking of those rooms, how big did they look to you?" Marcus asked.

"I could be mistaken, but all of them were quite large. I can't say for certain if they were big enough to hold that Shadow Crystal. However, I did find it perplexing that the doors weren't even traditional doors, they were similar to some hurricane shutters that retract upwards into the ceiling. It was very strange." Chairperson Erma said.

"How weird…did you happen to meet the company's president by any chance?" Luana asked.

"I did see him briefly with a short green haired man walking into some room. The two of them really creeped me out to the point that I had to excuse myself from the tour. Something about those men…don't seem right at all, it's troubling." Chairperson Erma said.

"You know ma'am, if those rooms really are big enough to contain the Shadow Crystal and you get an odd vibe from the president and Wheeler…what if those two are somehow connected to Team Dim Sun?" I asked.

"That makes…a lot of sense. It might be an assumption to others, but some of the things do start to add up. After all, why not have traditional doors and cubicles instead of these giant rooms that are look similar to hangars? It's odd that Blake would choose such a strange design for his company. Well then, considering the fact that Altru Tower's floors are open to the public then that means it's settled. Tomorrow…the team of Rangers are going to enter Altru Tower!" Chairperson Erma said.

"That's wonderful! Oh, while you're here Chairperson Erma, did you find out anything about that Kincaid imposter?" Luana asked.

"Actually yes, we've interrogated the impostor and as expected, he's affiliated with Team Dim Sun as a normal grunt, though he definitely took the fall for Kincaid. He's at the prison in Fiore right now." Chairperson Erma said.

"That's a relief, at least he can't do any harm or trickery to anyone else." Marcus said.

"That's a good point. No worries guys, we'll do our best to capture the real Kincaid in due time!" I said.

"I know you two will do just that, Kincaid may be a sneaky one, but the two of you can stop him, wherever he may be. Since there's nothing else for you two to do, you can have the rest of today off. As for me, I'll be heading upstairs to gather more intel about anything suspicious occurring in the region lately. Let me know if any of you need anything at all." Chairperson Erma said.

"Thanks Chairperson Erma, will do!" Luana said as Chairperson Erma went upstairs.

"Oh man, that reminds me, I should head upstairs as well, that way you and Luana can have some quality time together." Marcus said.

"Alright, you have a good day Marcus, let us know if there's anything you need us to do!" I said as Marcus waved and headed upstairs.

"Well now, what would you like to do, handsome?" Luana asked.

"You already know the answer to that! Let's go to our bedroom." I said.

"Oooh, I certainly do, lead the way." Luana said.

Luana immediately locked the door right as we stepped through the threshold and the two of us undressed as we put out clothes on the dresser. I felt rather cold at first but that feeling was soon mitigated once we hopped into bed and made slow love to one another for a while. Even as we gasped and panted, Luana and I were lovingly embracing each other as she held me close to her.

"That was awesome Luana. At first, I was beginning to feel cold when we headed towards the bed, but you were able to keep me warm without any trouble at all." I said as Luana grinned.

"Yeah, it was pretty cold…but with how hot you always make me feel, I didn't pay it any mind." Luana said.

"If that the case then can we stay like this for a while? This is really relaxing." I said.

"Hmm, just like this? I'm not sure…let me get a little more comfortable first…" Luana said as she shifted herself much closer to me.

"You know, this really is much more comfy, I could lie here with you all day." I said.

"That sounds like good news to me, go ahead and take a quick nap." Luana said as I snuggled closer to her.

"Alright, wake me up in ten minutes darling, I won't need much rest." I said.

"Sure thing, sweet dreams." Luana said as I fell into a deep sleep.

I woke up later and felt refreshed while Luana held me in an embrace. In the time I fell asleep, Luana shifted and rested my head on her lap while she propped herself up with a pillow and played with my hair.

"Oh good, you're awake, how was your rest?" Luana asked.

"Hi Luana, my rest was good, I feel much better now. Say, what time is it?" I asked.

"Right now is…6 o' clock." Luana said.

"Woah, that's the time already?! We can get dressed and then you and I can do some patrolling around Pueltown. Once we're done with that, how about you and I go on a date? Does that sound good to you?" I asked.

"Sure, that sounds like a lot of fun, let's go!" Luana said.

As Luana and I were getting dressed, I noticed that the blankets were already in the dryer and I chuckled to myself. After that, we both headed out of the bedroom and walked to Pueltown, managing to reach there after some walking.

"Hmm, I think it's best to start with the area that has most of the restaurants and cafes, then we can work our way through the rest of the town. What do you think?" I asked.

"Yeah, we can do that, let's hurry before it starts getting dark!" Luana said.

Luana and I walked around the area, looking at the various eateries and making sure everything was safe as we soon finished up our patrolling. Moving on from one of the more busier areas of Pueltown, Luana and I then went to where some other businesses were, such as bookstores and furniture shops and again, found nothing out of the ordinary. After that, Luana and I patrolled the some more of the town, which took about an hour or so. It was dark by the time Luana and I were almost done and we soon began to see less and less people out on the streets compared to earlier.

"Man…there's barely anyone out and about now, this place feels so odd when it's not as lively as during the day. Luana, how about we go check out Altru Tower really quick? When we're done, you and I can head back to the Ranger Union and instead of us heading out to eat, I can get a few supplies and cook us some dinner. Then we can just call it a night." I said.

"Yeah, it feels really creepy being here. Going to Altru Tower as fast as we can is a good idea with how dark it is, let's hurry." Luana said as we headed to Altru Tower.

Luana and I reached the skyscraper within a few minutes and checked around the perimeter for anything suspicious. Seeing that the doors were locked and nothing was out of place, we both finished the rest of our patrols and walked over to a small grocery store that was still open.

"Well, now that we're done with patrols, let's see what they have in stock!" I said.

"Hopefully the shelves aren't completely empty!" Luana said as we headed inside.

Upon entering the store, we discovered that a few shelves were in fact empty, but thankfully, most of the produce was stocked up. Since I wouldn't need much in terms of supplies, Luana and I headed over to the various vegetables. As we browsed through the shelves and picked out some items, Luana and I soon spotted Linda and Sandshrew. Linda's Sandshrew and a few vegetables were in her arms and she waved to us as we approached her.

"Hi guys, what's up?" Linda asked as we both pet Sandshrew.

"Hello Linda, nothing much, we just finished our patrols and decided to do some quick shopping for some dinner." I said.

"Oh? Well it's a good thing you two are done with patrolling, it's getting really dark out. You and Luana must be pretty brave to be out at this time. It might only be a half hour past seven, but as you can see, many people already went home since some of the streetlights aren't exactly the most reliable." Linda said.

"Yeah, some of them weren't working or continuously flickered before going out completely. I wouldn't blame people for rushing inside at all. Say, if you're out at this time, then that means you're also rather brave yourself!" Luana said.

"Haha, I guess I am!" Linda said as we all shared a laugh.

Eventually, I gathered quite a few vegetables, such as onions, potatoes and carrots. I figured getting some pasta and lettuce to go along with everything would be especially important. Linda also picked up a couple of berries, which Sandshrew happily helped her out with.

"Nice, looks like we got all the stuff we need. Linda, if you'd like, we can go back to the Ranger Base with you. It would be scary if you went by yourself." Luana said.

"Thanks guys, I appreciate that, it'll be nice to walk home with some friends. You guys might be wondering why Murph isn't with me. Well, unfortunately for me, it's because he's busy helping Chairperson Erma out with some paperwork, which is really tiresome, so I figured that I would get some ingredients to make him some soup." Linda said.

"Aw, that's so sweet of you Linda!" Luana said.

"Yeah, I have to agree! Murph will definitely appreciate you cooking him food!" I said.

"Thanks guys, I'm pretty excited to make food for anyone, though of course I really enjoy making food for Murph. When considering all the great work he's done, cooking him something to eat is never a problem for me." Linda said.

"Good, I'm glad that your relationship is coming along nicely. It's a good thing when two people look out for one another, just like Kellyn and I do!" Luana said.

"A little help and love goes a long way. Speaking of you guys, everyone likes you two a lot, then again, most of the people at the Ranger Union and Almia are pretty friendly in general." Linda said as she picked up a few Sitrus berries.

"Yeah, that's a good point, it's a great region that I'm rather fond of, especially since I've become close with many people here." I said as I looked over at Luana, who was examining some Oran berries next to us.

"Looks like you always got Luana on your mind, everyone can see that the same certainly goes for her. I think that's pretty adorable, you and her have such a tight bond." Linda said as Luana came over with a couple of Oran berries.

"Definitely, just one of the several things I love about Luana is her amazing smile." I said.

"I'm glad you feel that way, seeing you happy always makes my day." Luana said as we headed over to the cash register.

After a few minutes, we finished paying for everything, though Luana and I paid for Linda's groceries despite her insisting otherwise. When all of us were done in the store, we walked back to the Ranger Union and took our time doing so.

"Thanks for paying for the groceries guys, I'll make sure to repay you two back!" Linda said as Sandshrew hopped on her head.

"No need, it's not a problem at all. Is there anything you'd like to talk about as we're walking back to the Ranger Union?" I asked.

"Well, I was wondering if we could discuss the problems going on in Almia and how it's impacting the citizens." Linda said.

"Sure, we don't mind! There has to be several different issues that are bothering the citizens but please tell us what some of them are." Luana said.

"Appropriately enough, all of the incidents plaguing the citizens are definitely Team Dim Sun related, ranging from various things such as childish pranks to stealing Pokémon. Of course, these are always quickly resolved, but it's sad to know they're causing so much trouble at such a frequent rate." Linda said.

"Yeah, I can understand why people are so bothered by them, of course, not all of them are bad, but those that are pose a serious danger to everyone." I said.

"Exactly, the troublesome members of Team Dim Sun are the real issues and the stress they're causing citizens definitely makes things even worse in Almia. If it wasn't for the work everyone at the Ranger Union is doing, then there's no telling what Team Dim Sun would do!" Luana said.

"You two are completely correct, the fact is that Team Dim Sun would be an extremely difficult foe to beat for a few reasons. For instance, we have no idea how much manpower they have or where their main base is." Linda said.

"That's right, another issue is that if there weren't any Pokémon Rangers around and anyone tried to rebel against them, then the more vicious grunts and admins would have their mind-controlled Pokémon to attack the citizens. That alone is a terrifying thought." I said.

"Yeah, it really is something scary to think about. Well, on a positive note, Team Dim Sun might be a threat, but everyone at the Ranger Union is going to put a stop to them!" Luana said.

"That's the spirit! In the time it took for us to have that brief conversation, I didn't realize that we already reached the Ranger Union!" Linda said as we approached the aforementioned building.

"Really? That was fast! It was nice talking to you Linda, are you heading up to Murph now?" I asked.

"Yup, I'll be going there now. I can't wait to make his dinner, but I enjoyed chatting with you guys as always." Linda said.

"Good, Murph will be happy with anything you make him! See you tomorrow Linda!" Luana said.

"You bet he will, good night guys!" Linda said as she and Sandshrew waved as they headed inside.

Luana and I went inside the Ranger Union a few seconds later and went into our bedroom. Once we took off our shoes, I went ahead and put the bags on the counter while Luana went over to the dresser. After setting everything on the counter, I first prepared the first part of the salad and chopped up some lettuce and then began working on putting the pasta in a pot. A minute or so into the cooking preparation, I felt Luana hugging me.

"Hi Kellyn, I have a present for you." Luana said.

"Aw, you didn't have to get me anything, what is it?" I asked as Luana kissed me on the lips.

"That was it, but there's more where that came from after dinner." Luana said with a smirk.

"I like how that sounds, especially with how soft those lips of yours are." I said.

"Good, you're such a romantic…now then, let me help you with dinner." Luana said as she got another small pot and diced up the carrots, onions and potatoes.

"Thanks Luana, the food won't take long now!" I said as Luana put the onions, potatoes and carrots inside of the pot as she filled it up with water.

A few minutes had passed and soon enough, the food was done. I got the Oran berries and put them on top of the salad, while Luana got the pasta and combined it with the vegetables. It was perfect for the both of us and we got chairs to sit down and eat.

"Ooh, this food looks awesome, let's eat!" Luana said as we started eating our dinner.

As usual, the food was finished on our plates in no time, so Luana took care of the dishes and put everything away despite me wanting to help. Once Luana was done with cleaning up, I went over to the bed and she sat down next to me as we nuzzled each other.

"Thanks for the help with cleaning up, that food was delicious, nice work." I said as Luana smiled.

"Not a problem, I figured since you did most of the cooking, the least I could do was make sure you didn't have any dishes to wash." Luana said.

"I appreciate that, now then, we can get some dessert now that we're through with dinner. How does that sound?" I asked.

"That sounds wonderful, let's get started, shall we?" Luana asked.

"Alright, better get—" I said as Luana immediately pounced on me and started to passionately make out with me.

Luana and I continued this for several minutes, taking breaks every so often for air. We were both satisfied and nuzzled each other frequently until a few hours had passed.

"Luana, whenever I'm with you, I'm always more relaxed." I said as Luana smiled.

"I am too, I feel so safe in your arms. I can't wait to see what we'll be doing next week, tomorrow's already going to be Monday!" Luana said as the two of us laid down.

"You're right, hard to believe we've been Top Rangers for so long…it seems like it was just yesterday that I started working at the Ranger Base and fell in love with you." I said.

"It really does feel like it wasn't too long ago, I'm so glad I met you." Luana said.

"I'm glad too, I can't even find words to describe how I feel about you." I said.

"Hearing you say that makes me so ecstatic, let's lie here for a little while." Luana said as she kissed me on the cheek.

Luana and I laid down next to one another for around a half hour, though I was starting to get sleepy as I yawned.

"Sorry about that, I'm getting a bit tired." I said as Luana giggled.

"Don't be sorry, let me help you get changed." Luana said.

Luana quickly undressed me and put my clothes in the washer while I relaxed on the bed. After she was finished, Luana then did the same with her uniform and joined me. The two of us then got our pajamas and got dressed as Luana climbed into bed and covered herself as I took the light off. Once that was done, I headed back to the bed and cuddled close to Luana.

"Good night Luana, I love you very much." I said as I kissed Luana on her nose.

"Good night Kellyn, I love you too." Luana said as we both soon fell asleep.

Morning time soon arrived and I checked my Styler, seeing that it was only ten o' clock. Looking to my right, I saw Luana soon began to wake up as well and she rubbed her eyes.

"Good morning Luana, how was your rest?" I asked as Luana smiled.

"Good morning Kellyn, I had a good sleep. What about you?" Luana asked.

"I also rested well, now let's get ready for today!" I said as we both got out of bed.

As usual, I went inside the bathroom and got changed after I finished getting myself ready. When I was done, I exited the bathroom and was face to face with Luana, which startled me a little as she giggled.

"Hahah, looks like I scared you again! I figured I would wait for you by the bathroom until you were done." Luana said.

"Yeah, you got me pretty good, sweetheart! Once you're done, we'll head outside, take your time though." I said as Luana winked and headed into the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later, Luana was finished getting ready. Once she was done, we both put our shoes on and left our bedroom, spotting Sven and Wendy's iconic Eevee squeak toy.

"Let's see how Sven and Wendy are doing today, maybe they'll want to do some stuff around the Ranger Union or in town." I said as I squeezed the adorable Eevee toy.

A few seconds passed before Wendy opened the door with a grin on her face.

"Hi Kellyn, hi Luana, good morning. Sven's out right now, he's helping the team of Rangers with locating the Shadow Crystal." Wendy said.

"Really? Well then…given how hard it is to find the Shadow Crystal, they'll need to be careful." Luana said.

"Luana's right, once the Shadow Crystal is found, wherever it may be, then everyone needs to be as careful as they can. Since Team Dim Sun is involved, they'll need to be extra cautious." I said.

"I wouldn't want that to happen, but I just hope everyone will be fine." Wendy said.

"Oh Wendy, you already know that Sven is a great Top Ranger, he knows what he's doing. By the way, would you like to get some breakfast with us? If you already had something to eat then it's no big deal." Luana said.

"Sure, I'd love to get breakfast with you guys!" Wendy said.

"Alright, sounds good. Let's head to the cafeteria and get something to eat!" I said as we all headed upstairs.

The three of us soon reached the cafeteria and we quickly headed inside. As usual, no one else was there except for the three of us, so we went and got our breakfast and sat down.

"Hmm, it feels weird eating without Sven, he's been looking for the Shadow Crystal for about two hours already." Wendy said.  
"I get what you're saying, I know that I'd feel the same way if I were to eat without Luana," I said.

"I'd be pretty down about it too. Don't you worry Wendy, at least you got us to keep you company. Besides, this is Sven we're talking about, he'll find that Shadow Crystal in no time!" Luana said.

"Exactly, we've all been through many challenges but you shouldn't be so worried. Considering how capable Sven is at what he does, I'm sure that him trying to find the Shadow Crystal won't be too difficult." I said.

"You guys are right…I'll do my best to not stress myself out so much." Wendy said.

"You care a lot about Sven, that's understandable, but don't worry so much, you know Sven will be fine." Luana said as we all ate our breakfast.

Once we were done eating, the three of us put our trays back and headed outside of the cafeteria. The three of us were about to go see if Chairperson Erma needed anything from us, but she soon came running over with a look of surprise plastered on her face.

"Dearies, remember how the team of Rangers went to the research facility? Well, before they ended up leaving for the Altru Tower with Sven, they brought back a journal that they uncovered regarding the Shadow Crystal and its power." Chairperson Erma said.

"W-what?! Where's the journal right now?" Wendy asked.

"It's currently in the lab, let's head there right away." Chairperson Erma said as the four of us went to the lab upstairs.

We hurriedly went to the lab and soon arrived, quickly entering so none of us wasted any time with this discovery. Upon entering, the four of us saw Isaac over at his desk and he motioned for us to come over, which we soon did as we stood around his desk.

"Hi guys, everyone else is out to eat right now. So as you guys know, this journal was obtained thanks to the Rangers that were at the research facility. The book itself was water damaged but are you guys prepared for me to read the information that everyone in the lab was able to retrieve?" Isaac asked.


	59. Chapter 59: The Assault on Altru Tower!

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Pokemon!**

**A/N: Our amazing heroes begin their attack on the Altru Tower where they run into some interesting obstacles!**

Chapter 59: The Assault on Altru Tower!

"You bet we are, go right ahead!" I said.

"Alright, I haven't read it yet, but it surely must be a bit of an eye opener. To begin, the book details of the Shadow Crystal and its power. In fact, the person who wrote this journal explained what the impact was on his son, here it is as follows…recently, Altru Inc. has been discovering more ways to use natural resources without them being harmful to the environment, such as hydroelectric power and wind power energy. However, just the other day, I fell into a cave system known as the Chroma Ruins after some exploration for any nearby rivers. I discovered something truly amazing…a large purple crystal that glowed brilliantly amongst some other smaller ones. Initially, I wanted to get the crew to excavate the large crystal, however, I was worried it would impact the cave Pokémon negatively so I instead took a small crystal to show to the research team back at the company. All of them were quite enthralled by the shine and glow of the crystal and my young son, who proudly works in the research department, was just as enamored by its beauty. However, despite all of this, I was growing old of doing field work and it was becoming quite exhausting for me. A month after this discovery and countless research being done, I lent the company over to my son, who I trust completely in ensuring the success of Altru Inc., he has done several hours of research into the purple crystals and even gave them a name: Shadow Crystals. While the name is a bit odd even with the dark color of the crystals, I will say that my son knows what he's doing and I couldn't be more proud of him. Knowing that the company is in good hands, I will retire in another region, possibly in Fiore or Sinnoh with my wife. I won't be returning to Almia again considering how capable my boy will be at managing things. The entry was the only one that could be salvaged a-and…t-this is…t-these are the words of Brighton Hall from five years ago…h-his son…his son is Blake Hall!" Isaac said as we all gasped.

"Blake Hall…I always got a nauseous feeling from the president of Altru Inc., but I wonder…is Brighton Hall still alive?" Wendy asked.

"I did a bit of research on that, Brighton Hall passed away three years ago." Isaac said.

"Wow…the poor man died thinking that his son would be doing a good thing for the company, without knowing that he's going to end up causing havoc across Almia…" I said.

"Wait, it just hit me…Blake Hall is the president of not just Altru Incorporation…but Team Dim Sun as well. We should head to Altru Inc. and locate the Shadow Crystal or Blake Hall!" Wendy said.

"Wendy, the problem is that Blake Hall will know that the Rangers are going to be in his building. Even if any of you went discreetly, what if you guys got found out? It took quite a while for me to get permission from Blake Hall to let Rangers explore the skyscraper. Blake Hall is a dangerous and powerful man, I have no idea what he would do to you guys if that were the case." Chairperson Erma said.

"That's true ma'am, but it's worrisome that those Rangers and Sven are at Altru Inc. right now. Can something be done?" Luana asked.

"Correct, what if any of them or the employees get hurt because of Blake Hall?" Wendy asked.

"Even worse is what impact this can have on the Pokémon and the citizens altogether." I said.

"Hmm…considering that Blake Hall needs to be stopped, we'll need to launch an attack as soon as possible. You guys are right, whether access to the building is granted or not, Almia is in danger!" Chairperson Erma said.

"If you guys are going to launch an attack, then those Vatonage Stylers you two have will be essential, I'm sure of it! Now the main task at hand is trying to figure out what sort of attack should be launched." Isaac said.

"Either way, I think that getting Sven and the Rangers out of the company's headquarters should be the biggest goal right now. If they're with Blake Hall, which I'm certain they are, then there's no way to know when he'll try to strike. Although…it's possible that having the group there is better so that they can prevent Blake Hall from trying anything with the Shadow Crystal. What are your thoughts Chairperson Erma?" I asked.

"I do feel that the three of you heading there would be rather dangerous given what Blake Hall could do, however…he needs to be stopped as soon as possible. Here's what we're going to do, Kellyn, Luana, you two are going to get your Partner Pokémon downstairs and as you guys are doing that, Wendy will contact Sven to get details on his whereabouts. If you're able to meet up with Sven and the team of Rangers, you'll launch an assault on the Altru Tower together. It will be far too risky for any of you to go there by yourselves and given that this is Team Dim Sun's base of operations, they'll definitely have the manpower despite how capable you all are. Wendy, you take the three gems and distribute two of them to Sven and Keith. At the moment, Keith's in Pueltown, you'll have to hand one of the gems to him after receiving information from Sven. Make sure to take the utmost caution as always." Chairperson Erma said as she retrieved the three gems and handed them to Wendy, who placed them in her uniform.

"Be safe you guys, you'll all make the Ranger Union proud! If Kincaid is there, make sure to teach him a lesson for me!" Isaac said.

"Don't worry Isaac, we'll put him in his place! Alright, now we'll be on our way!" Luana said as we hurried downstairs to the first floor.

The three of us quickly went to the Pokémon Training Room, where Ben and Betty were grooming our Pokémon. The two of them smiled and waved to us as we entered, though they were concerned upon seeing our expressions.

"Guys? What's wrong? Has something happened?" Ben asked.

"Yeah…it's terrifying…Blake Hall is the leader of Team Dim Sun and Altru Tower is their main base of operations…everyone in Almia is in danger." Wendy said as Ben and Betty gasped.

"W-what? Oh no…if that's the case, you need the help of your Partner Pokémon! Here, they'll surely be able to help you guys out tremendously!" Betty said as Luana and I took Pachirisu and Buneary into our arms with Wendy taking Raichu and Vulpix.

"Thanks guys, we'll get going to the tower now. Stay safe!" I said as Wendy called Sven.

"We will, please be careful, most of those admins don't play around, I can't imagine what that scary Blake Hall would be like!" Ben said as we all nodded and headed out of the room.

Sven picked up after some time and sounded very frantic with his panting, which was understandable given the circumstances.

"Sven! Give us a status update of the situation!" Wendy said.

"W-Wendy…Kellyn, Luana…it's more worse than we could have imagined…Altru Tower isn't just the main base of operations…but the five of us…we overheard some grunts talking on the fourth floor…Altru Tower is actually the Ultimate Machine designed to control all Pokémon." Sven said.

"We have to hurry! Sven, are you guys still in the tower?" Luana asked.

"Yeah, we're actually running out of it right now, there are Team Dim Sun grunts everywhere!" Sven yelled as we soon heard unintelligible screaming and shouting.  
"Oh no…Sven…please make it out safely…" Wendy said.

"Don't you worry, we're almost out of the building! I'll stay on the line with you and talk once we're out of harm's way!" Sven said as we made our way through Union Road.

After a full minute of tension and worrying, the shouting began to die down as we waited for Sven to respond back.

"S-Sven…are you there?" Wendy asked as we heard some crackling.

"Wendy! We just came out of Altru Tower! N-now that I'm catching my breath…I think it's strange that Team Dim Sun isn't in pursuit of us, I would have thought that they would have been more brazen and come after us whether we left the building or not." Sven said.

"Well it's a good thing they're not. You and the team of Rangers should come back to the Ranger Union where it's safe." Wendy said.

"Or better yet, we can all head over to the tower and hand the gems to Sven and Keith!" I said.

"That's a good idea, did you hear that, Sven?" Wendy asked.

"You bet I did! All of us are going to head over to the Union Road shortly!" Sven said as he hanged up.

Thankfully, we were already halfway through Union Road and the three of us then quickly went to the entrance and waited there. After a few minutes, we saw the four male Rangers approaching, as well as Keith and Sven alongside them. I glanced at the tower and saw that it was completely normal…at least from the outside.

"Wendy, Kellyn, Luana! I'm glad you guys are here! Sven and the other guys were just filling me in on everything that happened…man, what a story!" Keith said.

"Hi Keith, glad you're okay. Sven…tell me what took place in there!" Wendy said as the team of Rangers caught up with Sven and Keith and walked past us, presumably to head back to Chairperson Erma.

"Well, things were going fine at first. When we entered, we noticed the lobby was empty of its usual customers, however, the receptionist was there. When speaking with her, she told me that she hasn't noticed anything out of the ordinary besides the fact that she didn't see the president at all today. Since we suspected things weren't what they seemed and that the team hadn't explored the Altru Tower for the Shadow Crystal, we then took the elevator up to the third floor and the five of us we discovered these large rooms that had doors like hangars. As we got near some of them, Team Dim Sun grunts came bursting out from various rooms and chased us." Sven said.

"Wow, Blake Hall was planning to spring a trap for you guys…it's a good thing you were all able to escape without getting injured or captured. Did you guys see anyone else as you were fleeing? Like any people Team Dim Sun took as hostages?" Luana asked.

"Thankfully there weren't any people captured by Team Dim Sun. As you could expect, things for the most part seemed normal on the lower floors which didn't set off any red flags." Sven said.

"That's a relief, no one else being put in danger is less stress on us. However, Team Dim Sun was very crafty with that ambush, I wonder what else they have in store." I said.

"Yeah, it's good that no one is held up there, otherwise it'd be even more of a risky situation. Now that you guys are caught up on what's been taking place, let's hurry and bust in!" Keith said.

"Well, we do need to head there quickly, but rushing into danger is definitely going to be a disaster, especially because of how outnumbered we are." I said as Keith sighed.

"Ugh…you're right, I wasn't thinking. It's even more difficult because most of the other Rangers are in different parts of Almia. If we got swarmed or captured, then we wouldn't have anyone to rescue us in time, so that's definitely the last thing that should happen. Since that's the case, what do we do?" Keith asked.

"I have a suggestion, what if we got some Staraptor to fly us to the tower?" Luana asked.

"Fly us to the tower? How come?" Wendy asked.

"Well here's how I see it. Team Dim Sun is in full force, right? Their headquarters are right by Pueltown and we don't even know how many members they have. Doing that is the best method since Team Dim Sun might be swarming the town." Luana said.

"I get what you're saying, with that tower being sixty floors, it's entirely possible that Pueltown could get overwhelmed with grunts and mind-controlled Pokémon. Wendy, is your Staraptor all rested up?" I asked.

"Yeah, he is, I'll call for him right now." Wendy said as she whistled loudly, with her Staraptor coming around the back of the Ranger Union in no time.

"So, are we going to see if Pueltown's under attack first, or would it be best to go to Altru Tower before that happens?" Sven asked.

"I think the best option would be for you and Wendy to go on her Staraptor and observe Pueltown. If everything looks clear and no one's in danger, then you guys head to the tower with us and we'll get Barlow and Crawford to help us fight against Team Dim Sun despite them having bigger numbers. How does that sound?" I asked.

"Sounds good, are you sure about having the Vientown Ranger Base help us?" Keith asked.

"I certainly am, we'll need all the help we can get. While most of the other Rangers are extremely preoccupied or just in other parts of Almia, Crawford and Barlow are reliable, so I know that they'll come to help if we need it." I said as Wendy and Sven went on her Staraptor.

"Good point, we'll be checking out Pueltown, you guys head to the tower!" Wendy said as they took off.

"There they go, we should get going too." Keith said as we began to walk along Union Road.

"Yeah, let's head right over to Vientown!" I said.

"Good plan, I'm just worried about the Vientown Ranger Base being too busy to help us out." Keith said.

"I know what you're saying, but I have to say that the best people to be our backup would be Crawford and Barlow. Those two are great at what they do and they'll help us if we're in trouble. Instead of waiting for us to get in a serious situation like that, asking them for assistance right now is the safest thing to do." I said.

"I think that's the best idea, there's no telling what traps we'll be facing once we step inside. If we went with the five of us and we all somehow got trapped, then we'd be in serious trouble. The other Rangers, whether they're someone we know or not, would then get swarmed by grunts upon entering." Luana said.

"Yeah, if that were to happen, then that's no telling the danger Team Dim Sun could pose. Come on guys, let's go!" Luana said.

The three of us then raced to Pueltown where everything seemed normal. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw people playing with their Pokémon and their family.

"Good…let's see where Wendy and Sven are. We'll head to Altru Tower right away now that we know things are safe here. Hopefully they're just as ready to fight." Keith said.

"Yeah, I'll go ahead and give them a call so they know we're here and prepared." I said as I called Sven, who picked up a few seconds later.

"Kellyn? I'm glad you called…it's bad news…" Sven said.

"Bad news? What happened? We're here in Pueltown and everything seems fine." I said.

"Well…some of the Pokémon in Altru Park have started to act up just like other mind-controlled Pokémon have done in the past. It's about ten or so Pokémon that are acting like this, though more are sure to follow!" Sven said.

"I can handle that! You guys get to that tower!" Keith said.

"Are you sure Keith? One of us can stay behind to help you out, we have no idea what Pokémon are being mind-controlled!" I said.

"Uh oh…the small group is turning towards Union Road, meaning that the Ranger Union is at risk!" Sven said.

"I'm on it, Kellyn, Luana, you guys are going to stop Blake Hall, go quickly!" Keith said.

"Alright Keith…we'll go, you be safe!" Luana said as Keith hurried off towards the Union Road.

"Sven, give us a status update, are there any other disturbances in the area?" I asked.

"No, none at the moment at least. Wendy and I are coming to the Altru Tower right now. Since Keith is off to protect the Ranger Union, let's make our way to that tower!" Sven said.

"See you guys there!" I said as I hanged up.

"Let's do this, we're finally on our way to Team Dim Sun!" Luana said as I gave her a confident nod, with the two of us running to the tower.

Once we reached the tower entrance, we saw a tall steel barricade covering the entirety of the front door. To make matters more complicated, there were ten irate employees talking incoherently and security was trying to calm them down. Luana and I approached the crowd and saw Frank talking with an Altru employee. Frank saw us and quickly came over to explain the situation as he excused himself from the angry man.

"G-guys, you already can imagine who's behind this…! T-Team Dim Sun took over the building before we could place it on lockdown, we just left before they swarmed us!" Frank said.

"Don't worry Frank, we're here to help, can you tell us anything of what was going on inside since you guys were just leaving?" I asked as Wendy and Sven landed their Staraptor.

"Yes I can, I noticed three frightening looking people fly into the tower. I didn't get a look at their faces, but one of them had blue hair." Frank said.

"Blue hair…Ice…I should have figured the Sinis Trio would be here." Wendy said.

"Yeah, they're going to be a real pain to deal with. Now, let's try our best to access the front door, or at least another window." Luana said.

"We could use my Staraptor!" Wendy said.

"That could work…but what I'm wondering is if the place is filled with traps on any points of entry. If it is, that means we need to stay extremely alert at all times." I said.

"That's true…how do we get past this front door? The entire place is boarded up and using any of the Partner Pokémon with so many people nearby is dangerous." Sven said.

"Hmm…I think getting everyone to step behind us would be the safest option. Then we can have Vulpix melt the steel and we can enter the tower." I said.

"Now that's a good plan, I'll get everyone away from the area." Frank said.

"Thanks Frank, we appreciate the help!" Luana said.

"No problem guys. Attention everyone, we'll address all your concerns and complaints in another area! For now, let's allow the Rangers to do their jobs, please follow me!" Frank said as he and a few other guards escorted the fuming crowd away.

"Alright, now that the crowd is gone, do your stuff Vulpix!" I said as Vulpix used Flamethrower on the barricade, making it melt almost instantaneously.

"Yes! Time to get rid of Team Dim Sun!" Sven said.

"Ah, wait just a second…I need to give these to you guys." Wendy said as handed the Yellow Gem and Blue Gem to Sven and I respectively.

"Good thinking…carrying them separately will prevent one of us from being targeted. Now we just have to make our way up this place." Sven said.

"Correct, of course, you'll need to tag along with Kellyn and Luana, there's no way of knowing what to expect here. I'll circle around the tower and try to see if I can head to the upper floors." Wendy said as we soon felt rumbling.

"W-w-what's happening? Almia isn't on any fault lines!" Luana said as the trembling soon ceased after several seconds.

"I think that rumbling was the tower…since it's the Ultimate Machine, that rumbling has to be connected to controlling Pokémon somehow. We have to hurry!" I said.

"Alright, it's time for me to…w-what's that?" Wendy asked.

"Hm? What's what?" Sven asked.

"L-look up…there's a strange cloud wrapping around some of the building." Wendy said.

Feeling terrified, me and everyone else looked up and saw just what Wendy described, a dark and ominous purple cloud covering the top twenty floors of Altru Tower.

"This is awful…" I said.

"You bet it is, I'll try going on a floor just below it!" Wendy said as she hopped on her Staraptor and took off.


	60. Chapter 60: Inside Altru Tower: Part 1

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Pokemon!**

Chapter 60: Inside Altru Tower: Part 1

Acting quickly, the four of us and our Pokémon went over the melted barrier and headed inside. Upon entering, we saw that the lobby was trashed with the receptionist area destroyed and the display cases smashed open. Further down the room were two Team Dim Sun grunts blocking the elevator and we went up to them right away.

"Huh?! Pokémon Rangers?! How did you guys get past the barricade?!" One of the grunts asked.

"As you can see, we came prepared." I said as Vulpix grinned proudly.

"Grrr…this tower belongs to us! We locked those employees out not too long ago, now we'll have to take out a team of Rangers!" The second grunt said as the two took out Miniremos and started typing.

"Pachirisu, Raichu, use Thunderbolt on those Miniremos!" I said as both Pokémon emitted a jolt of electricity, which managed to make one of the Miniremos malfunction and cease to work.

"M-My Miniremo…hey man, you take care of this, I'll alert the guys upstairs!" The grunt said.

"What?! Don't leave me here with three Rangers!" The other grunt said as the first one tried pushing the elevator button, though Luana was quick to restrain him with zip ties.

"You're not too bright are you? You'd have to wait a long time for this elevator before being able to escape." Luana said as the grunt sat down in defeat.

_'__Good work as always everyone, now that leaves one threat remaining. Hopefully we'll be able to deal with him.' _I thought to myself.

"Humph, not so fast Rangers! You aren't getting past me!" The remaining grunt said as he hit a few more keys.

"We'll see about that, we're ready for you!" I said as we soon felt a cold chill.

"I-I wonder what Ghost type it'll be this time..." Sven mumbled as I saw a Shadow Ball heading straight for Luana.

Thankfully, I managed to barely pull Luana out of harm's way as the Shadow Ball collided with the nearby displays.

"Phew…thanks for the help Kellyn." Luana said.

"No problem…now what to do with the Pokémon… I got it! Raichu, Pachirisu, use Thunder Wave on the entire area!" I said as both Pokémon used Thunder Wave, revealing a pair of Mismagius preparing to launch another attack.

"Mismagius, get those Rangers!" The grunt said as the Pokémon shrugged off the paralysis before shooting out a fierce purple Flamethrower, with the flames getting really close to Sven.

"Sven, look out!" I said as I pulled Sven back just in time.

"Thanks Kellyn…that was a close one…" Sven said.

"Don't mention it, now we need to find out how we deal with these Mismagius. They're able to shrug off the paralysis surprisingly fast, so we need other ways to deal with them." I said as I felt a cold air around me.

"I got an idea! Buneary, use Foresight!" Luana said as Buneary hopped on her head.

Buneary's eyes glowed a bright yellow, which made the Mismagius completely visible, surprising the grunt.

"W-what?! Man…you Rangers are getting on my nerves!" The grunt said as he typed in another command.

I made loops around the two Pokémon quickly, taking full advantage of the grunt being so disorientated. The Mismagius weren't attacking since they were awaiting the grunt's orders and they simply floated around as I brought their friendship meters up to thirty five percent. A few seconds later though, the Pokémon began to attack once more as they charged up a Shadow Ball together.

"Oh no you don't, Vulpix, use Flame Wheel!" I said as Vulpix unleashed a fiery ring around both Pokémon, restricting their movements.

Luana soon took over and made loops around the Mismagius as the fire subsided. The two Ghost types then spat out six purple flames, which all dodged as the purple carpet was set on fire.

"You idiot Pokémon! You're supposed to attack the Rangers not the furniture!" The grunt shouted as the ceiling sprinklers came on.

I acted fast and shielded Vulpix from the water by using my body while Luana continued making loops from a safe distance. Now that the fire was extinguished, the two Mismagius regained their ability to move as they teleported around the room. Since they were still visible thanks to Foresight, it wasn't hard to know where they were at all times. As I looked at Raichu and Pachirisu, I noticed that their energy was back, giving me the all clear.

"Pachirisu, Raichu, paralyze those Mismagius once more!" I said as both Pokémon discharged their electricity, stopping the Mismagius in their tracks.

I decided to take over for Luana and help her out, especially since the friendship meter was nearly sixty percent. As the grunt continued to seethe, I made loops around the Ghost types quickly. The grunt then attempted to rush at me, but Sven managed to tackle him before he could do any harm. A few loops later, both Pokémon were captured successfully as the Miniremo malfunctioned, with the restrained grunts clearly very annoyed as the Mismagius looked around confused before vanishing.

"Argh, blasted Rangers! I'd escape if I wasn't so restricted!" The second grunt said.

"Good teamwork everyone! Let's finally go in the elevator!" Sven said.

"Sure, but first, let's give Barlow and Crawford a call. Those Pokémon were problematic to deal with and this is just the lobby. We'll have Crawford and Barlow help us with any grunts along the way." I said.

"Good idea, Keith and Wendy aren't here so we'll need all the help we can get!" Luana said as I smiled and called Barlow.

I was worried Barlow wouldn't pick up given the situation taking place, but I was relieved to hear that his line wasn't busy as he picked up.

"Hello Kellyn and Luana, how are you two doing?" Barlow asked.

"Well Barlow, we need your help, Team Dim Sun is in Altru Tower and the Ranger Union is also under attack. Keith's at the Ranger Union dealing with mind-controlled Pokémon but we haven't heard back from him." I said.

"What?! Nothing's happening in Vientown! Crawford and I are on the way, we'll bring some Ranger trainees from the Ranger School as well to help Keith out!" Barlow said.

"Thanks Barlow, we're all in need of dire help!" I said.

"We'll be there, you can count on us!" Barlow said as he hanged up.

Luana and I hoisted the grunts up and were preparing to bring them outside where we'd wait for Barlow and Crawford, however, we saw Wendy burst into the lobby.

"Oh man…those upper floors are completely inaccessible! I even had Staraptor use Peck on the windows to no avail, I ended up sending him back to the Ranger Union so that he'll be able to help Keith out." Wendy said.

"I'm glad you're safe Wendy. Did you get any word from Keith?" Sven asked.

"No, nothing yet, I'm certain that he's still capturing those Pokémon. I feel awful for just having Staraptor go to help him." Wendy said.

"Don't you fret Wendy, Barlow and Crawford are coming to help us out while some Ranger trainees assist Keith." I said.

"Good, I haven't seen any other Pokémon going towards the Ranger Union aside from the ones we saw earlier. I was searching around the tower for a quicker way to reach the top but like I said…it was impossible." Wendy said.

"Don't you worry, we'll make our way up as best as we can. First things first, let's head outside to wait for Barlow and the others." Luana said.

The four of us and the two grunts headed outside, where we all saw at least six Ranger apprentices heading our way, with half of them splitting off and going towards the Ranger Union. Leading all of them was none other than our friend Barlow, followed by Crawford. Before we knew it, Barlow, Crawford and the apprentices were here with determined looks on their faces, clearly eager to help out any way that they could.

"Everyone, it's good to see you, tell us what you need and we'll do our best!" Barlow said.

"Thanks Barlow, these two grunts are being pretty troublesome and we were wondering if someone could bring them back to the Ranger Base, or perhaps the Ranger Union if it isn't too much trouble." I said as Barlow gave a hearty laugh.

"No worries Kellyn, two of the backup Rangers we brought will be more than happy to do so!" Barlow said as two trainees took the grunts away, leaving us with one trainee, a guy about two years younger than me, with brown eyes and black hair.

"Wow, thank you Barlow, you guys came at just the right time! This place is bound to be swarming with Team Dim Sun operatives everywhere." I said.

"Yeah, I never would have thought Altru Tower was the main base of operations for Team Dim Sun. I was only able to bring six apprentices since they were the ones closest to graduating and had the most knowledge and training." Barlow said.

"Don't sweat it Barlow, we're here to help not just Kellyn and Luana, but Sven, Wendy and all of Almia too!" Crawford said.

"Crawford's right, we appreciate any help we can get, even if only you and Crawford showed up! Now that everyone's here, let's go to that elevator." I said as we all headed back inside.

"Okay, Jim, we'll need you to stand guard at the tower's entrance, we can't risk having anyone enter inside." Crawford said.

"Really Crawford? I'm sorry but…I came here to help out the Top Rangers, they're practically my idols. I won't get in the way, I just want to be of assistance." Jim said.

"You know, I think Jim would be a good choice to tag along with us. Besides, no one's going to be coming in or out of this building anyway!" Barlow said.

"Can't argue with that logic, do you need me for anything Barlow?" Crawford asked.

"Well I think that Keith and the trainees will need some assistance at the Ranger Union. Your expertise will really come in handy!" Barlow said.

"I may not be as experienced as you Barlow, but there's no way of knowing how much mind-controlled Pokémon are attacking the Ranger Union! I'll head there right away!" Crawford said as he rushed off.

"I'm glad that Crawford's always looking to help…now then Jim, are you ready to fight some bad guys?" Barlow asked as Jim looked at us.

"Er, you guys don't mind me coming along, do you?" Jim asked.

I couldn't help but smile at Jim, from the commitment he had in wanting to help us to the nervousness he displayed. In fact, seeing the uniform Jim was wearing also made me glad, since it was the same uniform I had in Ranger School.

"I don't have a problem with it, what about you guys?" I asked as everyone else shook their heads.

"Nope, having extra help is always good!" Wendy said.

"Good, then let's go!" I said as we headed over to the elevator.

I pressed the elevator button and looked at our Partner Pokémon as we waited for the elevator to arrive. Figuring that Jim may want a Partner Pokémon to help him in any tight spots, I decided to offer him one of our Pokémon to use.  
"Jim, while we're waiting, I had a question to ask, have you ever had any training with a Partner Pokémon?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, not as much as I'd like to. I say I've had maybe an hour with a Pokémon as an improvised partner." Jim said.

"Well, would you like to borrow one of our Partner Pokémon? Pachirisu and Buneary are Partner Pokémon for Luana and I, but if you'd like, we can lend you Raichu or Vulpix." I said as Jim contemplated for a moment.

"Wow, thank you so much! I'll go with…Raichu since I've had some experience with a Fire type Pokémon before." Jim said as Raichu immediately went over to his side.

"Looks like Raichu's taken a shine to you already!" Luana said as we all chuckled.

The elevator arrived shortly afterwards and we all got on it quickly. I was looking over the buttons and immediately hit the button for the fifty ninth floor so that we can get to Blake Hall without delay. The elevator doors then closed and we started to move up, things were going rather well as we reached the second floor and went all the way up to the eight floor. We then continued our way to the ten floor when the elevator suddenly came to a quick halt.

"Um…please tell me the elevator didn't just stop working…" Sven said.

"Looks like it did. We don't have a choice but to leave through the escape hatch." Barlow said.

All of us looked up and saw the small door on the ceiling. Luana was about to issue a command to Buneary when we heard something make a loud impact on the top of the elevator.

"That has to be a grunt…be on your guard everyone!" Barlow said as the metal door came flying towards us.

The door harmlessly fell on the ground, with a grunt soon following as he fell flat on his face. Despite the cramped elevator, the grunt managed to recover from his fumble before we could even capture him and he took out a Miniremo with a sinister look on his face.

"Say goodbye Rangers, I'll be summoning a Pokémon to send you plummeting back down to the lobby!" The grunt said.

"What?! Don't do that, you'll kill us and take yourself out too!" I said as the grunt grimaced.

"Hmph, smart know-it-all Ranger…fine, I'll spare all of you, but I'll still leave the elevator like this. Bye!" The grunt said as he hastily made his escape.

None of us wasted any time in chasing after him, and I decided to allow everyone else to leave the elevator first. I helped Luana out of the elevator first and then helped the Pokémon with leaving safely. Once that was finished, I then helped out Sven and Wendy, followed by Jim and finally, Barlow. Now that everyone was out, I decided to leave as well and joined everyone on top of the elevator. Looking up, I saw that the tenth floor wasn't too far from where we were and knew that climbing the rest of the way would be the only option.

"Well, looks like we have to climb to the tenth floor." Sven said.

"I-it's the only way…s-so we have to get going." Jim said.

"Don't worry Jim, we're all doing this together. Let's get up there and chase after that grunt!" I said as Jim grinned.

Wasting no time, we all got on the front cables suspending the elevator and climbed up two at a time, with two of us on each side. After a few minutes of climbing up to the tenth floor, we made it on solid ground, all of us managed to do so just in time as well, as a couple of the cables holding the elevator up began to snap.

"Woah, that was a close one, good thing we didn't hesitate in getting up here!" Wendy said.

"Yeah you're telling me…now we got some exploring to do!" Barlow said.

Some quick searching led us to find the same rooms Chairperson Erma described, high to the ceiling and each one was covered by a large hangar door. There were ten rooms in total on this floor and anything could be in them. Hesitantly, I opened one of them to discover that the room had four large holding cells in the back, filled with at least sixty Pokémon that were packed together tightly. Looking around the room for something that could free the Pokémon, I noticed the gray tile a few feet away from us being a slightly lighter shade than the rest.

"T-this…this is awful…" Jim said as he stepped forward, though I put a hand out to prevent him from entering in the room.

"One moment Jim, this room has a trap. You see that tile up ahead that's a bit lighter than every other tile? I guarantee you that once any of us step on that tile, something will happen." I said as Jim gasped.

"Oh wow, I never even noticed that, let's walk around that tile just to be safe." Jim said as we entered the room.

"Kellyn, I have to say that catching that odd colored tile took a good eye." Barlow said.

"Yeah, but it would have been a really nasty surprise if the only good tile was the odd colored one. I don't want to even imagine how awful that would be." I said as we all traversed to the end of the room where the Pokémon were stored.

"I wouldn't be surprised considering how Team Dim Sun is…they would definitely pull a trick like that. Now how do we get these Pokémon free?" Sven asked as we all looked around the room for a switch or a button.

I approached one of the cages filled with various Pokémon and crouched down. The cramped Pokémon weren't fearful of me, as they knew that none of us were there to harm them. I was enraged with how these Pokémon were being mistreated and I grasped two of the bars and used all of my strength, hoping that perhaps I would be able to get these Pokémon out of here. The bars weren't able to hold up for long and the entire holding cell nearly fell apart after trying to get the bars apart. The Pokémon were overjoyed that they were free and all of them got out of the cage to head over to the nearby ones.

"W-wow Kellyn, that strength you showed off was really cool!" Jim said as I stood up and turned around, seeing that Luana was working on freeing the Pokémon from one cage.

"Hahah, thanks Jim, I couldn't stand seeing those Pokémon trapped like that. Let's go help free the other ones!" I said as Jim headed over to one cage while I headed over to the last cage at the far right of the room.

Just like with the first one, I used my strength to pry open the bars to the cage. The Pokémon for this cage then walked into the spacious room and I glanced over to see Jim having Vulpix heat up the bars so that they would be melted. Once that was finished, all the Pokémon in the room were free and Barlow, Sven and Wendy were helping them through the door. Luana, Jim and I were leaving the room since we were done freeing the Pokémon, but we heard a loud thud behind us and turned around, only to see a Team Dim Sun admin glaring at us along with the same grunt from earlier.

"Leo…I thought you stopped the elevator from moving…" The admin said.

"I did, how was I supposed to know that these Rangers wouldn't stay put?" Leo asked.

"Uh…should we leave them to argue?" Jim whispered.

"Yes, let's go quickly." Luana whispered back as we headed towards the door, grateful that the trapped Pokémon and our friends were already out of the room.

"Hey! They're trying to get away! Leo you idiot, do something!" The admin said.

"Fine! I'll step on our secret trap!" Leo said as he rushed over to the lighter colored tile.

We all raced out of the room, terrified about what trap the two of them set up for us. Just outside the doorway was Barlow, Sven and Wendy who were puzzled at our sudden exit from the room, while the freed Pokémon were huddled at the far end of the large area, fearful of the Team Dim Sun members.

"What's wrong guys? We were checking over all the Pokémon here to see how we can get them out of the building safely." Sven said.

"We had to hurry out of the room, a grunt and admin dropped from the ceiling and activated the trap we avoided earlier." I said as we all heard a loud boom, similar to thunder.

Coming out of the room was the admin and the grunt, both looking clearly disgruntled as they took out Miniremos.

"Leo! I told you to not activate that trap unless the Rangers were on the elevator! The Rangers definitely weren't headed towards the elevator that had some damaged cables and yet there you go activating the trap anyway!" The admin said as he began to feverishly type.

"How's that my fault? I was planning on using that trap anyway! Now the Rangers will have to walk the rest of the way up!" Leo said.

"Hmm…that's pretty smart…good work Leo. Now then Rangers, prepare yourselves for a fierce battle!" The admin said.

"Guys, I think we should head to the eleventh floor instead of dealing with these two." I whispered as we quickly walked away.

Unfortunately for us, neither Team Dim Sun goon were letting us leave the area and all of us heard what sounded like another loud crash to our right. Once we turned, we saw what made the sound…twenty feet away was an enraged Swampert that was being mind-controlled just like all the other Pokémon were used by Team Dim Sun.


	61. Chapter 61: Inside Altru Tower: Part 2

**Disclaimer: Pokemon isn't owned by me!**

Chapter 61: Inside Altru Tower: Part 2

_'Oh no…one of my favorite Pokémon is in such agonizing pain…' _I thought to myself as the Team Dim Sun members laughed at us.

"What's the matter Rangers? Afraid of such a strong Pokémon?" The admin asked.

"N-no, we're going to help Swampert regain its senses!" Luana said.

"Let's see you try…" Leo said as he typed in a command.

Swampert, still in immense pain, let out a powerful Hydro Pump heading straight for me. Everyone immediately got on the ground and I managed to barely join them in time due to being stunned from seeing such power being displayed. If I delayed by just a fraction of a second, the Hydro Pump would have slammed me against the wall.

All of us got back to our feet as the Swampert lunged at us and repeatedly attempted to strike us with its arms. Sven looked absolutely terrified and nearly got struck by one of Swampert's swings, though Wendy tackled him out of the way as Swampert's arms smashed into the wall of the room we were just in, causing a massive dent in the steel frame.

"Pachirisu, use Thunder Wave on Swampert!" I said as Pachirisu immediately did so.

Thankfully, Swampert was able to be paralyzed by the attack and I immediately started making loops around the Pokémon. Sven and Jim on the other hand, went over to the Miniremo being commanded by the noisy duo and tried to destroy it while Barlow and Wendy distracted the admin and grunt. However, the Miniremo looked like it was made of much more sturdier material compared to the other things Team Dim Sun has made and didn't even crack.

"Guys, we'll keep these jerks distracted! You know what to do!" Barlow said.

Luana and I nodded in response and Luana made a halfway loop around the Swampert, which was now simply looking around the area in confusion, though it was still in excruciating pain. I quickly charged the Styler up to its second stage and Luana made loops around the Swampert, which was startled by the sudden movements and fired a Mud Bomb at us, which made impact with the floor, denting that as well.

"Easy there Swampert…we're not going to hurt you…" I said.

Hearing what I said appeared to have made Swampert calm down slightly and Luana slowly made loops around the Pokémon so that it didn't end up attacking again. Taking a bit of a breather, I looked to where everyone else had gone and saw that they managed to restrain the Team Dim Sun goons, who were now on the ground.

"Let us go! We were just messing around!" The admin said.

"No way, you guys are staying here!" Barlow said.

I glanced at my Styler to see that the Swampert's friendship meter was slowly going past fifty percent thanks to Luana's great work. Since the duo were no longer inputting commands to control Swampert, it became extremely docile and made no attempt to attack us, even as Luana continued to make loops around it. A few minutes later, the Swampert was successfully captured and subsequently recorded in our Browser data, with the Miniremo malfunctioning as it regained its senses.

"U-u-uh-oh…what do we do now?" Leo asked.

"How am I supposed to know? We're tied up and surrounded by Rangers and angry Pokémon!" The admin said as the Swampert swiftly approached the two goons and picked them up.

"Hm? What's Swampert doing to them?" Jim asked.

"Looks like Swampert's just as furious with them as we are." Wendy said.

The Swampert approached the crowd of Pokémon, who were much calmer now that the admin and grunt could no longer harm them. It made me sad seeing all the Pokémon that were once held captive by the squirming grunts and we wondered what the Pokémon were going to do to the grunts. None of us had to wait for long as we saw an Abra teleport in front of the Swampert and Barlow quickly made loops around the timid Pokémon and captured it, grinning as he did so.

"Capture complete! Abra, teleport those goons to Almia's Prison, I think they'll enjoy it. When you're finished, please teleport all the previously captive Pokémon out of here." Barlow said as Abra nodded and immediately made the admin and Leo disappear.

Seconds later, Abra teleported back and was about to teleport the Pokémon away until Barlow's Styler started ringing.

"Sorry everyone, it's Ollie, let me answer it and see if something's wrong." Barlow said as he picked up.  
"Barlow! It's an emergency, Vientown is coming under attack from Team Dim Sun, a whole bunch of mind-controlled Pokémon are headed this way!" Ollie said as Barlow took a deep breath.

"Don't you worry, I'll be there to defend Vientown!" Barlow said as he hanged up.

"Ah, wait, Mr. Barlow, I know you're very skilled, but would like me to come and assist you?" Jim asked as Barlow chuckled.

"I appreciate that Jim, but I have a whole bunch of allies to help me fight. Isn't that right guys?" Barlow asked as the Pokémon gave a collective cheer.

"Be safe, don't hesitate to let us know if you need anything." I said as Barlow smiled.

"I'll make sure to do that. Everyone, make sure to take Team Dim Sun down! Make everyone you know proud!" Barlow said.

"You know we will Barlow, show Team Dim Sun who's boss!" I said.

"They won't know what hit them. Abra, teleport all of us to the Vientown Ranger Base please." Barlow said as he and the Pokémon disappeared instantly.

"Now it's time to continue onwards, let's check each of these giant rooms for anymore Pokémon that could be held captive." Luana said.

"Good idea Luana, there's bound to be more Pokémon trapped on this floor, let's check this room over here." I said as we all walked over to the room on the right.

Opening the massive door, we discovered that the room was completely barren, which was strange considering that the previous room was filled with Pokémon. In fact, we checked every other room on this floor and discovered that they were also empty.

"What's going on with this floor? There wasn't anything in any of these rooms aside from the first door we opened." Jim said.

"Well…I think what's going on here is that the other rooms were used to hold Pokémon. Maybe the cages were in the process of being moved and we interrupted that." I said.

"That makes a lot of sense, it does example why they're so empty. Let's head to the eleventh floor." Sven said.

"Hopefully we'll be able to find some answers there…we have a lot more flights to go if there isn't another elevator in this building." Wendy said as we went up the stairs.

We reached the eleventh floor after a little while and saw that the layout was the same. We became even more concerned than before after thoroughly searching every room on this floor…every single room was completely barren with the only exception being the light fixtures. Even as we reached the fifteenth floor, we were still astounded that each room and floor was the same empty area.

"I don't like this at all…thinking about how many Pokémon could have been in just one of these rooms terrifies me." Jim said.

"Exactly, even though it's hard, try your best not to think about it. You know, something I am wondering about is…this tower…" Sven said.

"What about it?" Luana asked.

"Well aside from the few grunts and the one admin we've encountered so far, we haven't seen anyone else here. It just…it just doesn't feel right." Sven said.

"Is it possible that the reason it's been so empty is because Team Dim Sun is planning an ambush? I mean from their point of view, we've been causing trouble for them the entire time. If anything, the Rangers are the ones they'll be after the most since they'll most likely have Pokémon under their control." I said.

"You do make a good point, I've been on edge the whole time. It's bad enough where I'm just fearful to speak because of the fact that Team Dim Sun could be waiting for us around the corner…it's a scary thought." Wendy said.

"Yeah, it's a pretty nerve wracking thing to think about, even more so because we're in their main base…yet with how quiet it is…it just comes across as eerie." Luana said.

Oddly enough, the layout of floor sixteen was completely different…in fact, it was just one giant room, probably about forty feet in length. There weren't any rooms, furniture…nothing, except for the staircase leading to the seventeenth floor.

"At least we don't have to search through any more rooms and worry about any Pokémon being in danger on this floor!" Jim said.

"Yeah, you're telling me, let's head to the next floor since there's nothing here." I said as we walked through the vast and empty room.

"Hmmm, do you think there's something about this room that we're missing?" Sven asked.

"You make a good point, it's pretty odd that the room is like this. Maybe there's a secret switch hidden somewhere in this room?" I asked.

"Could be, let's walk through the room first and see if we uncover anything." Wendy said.

Walking through the room was as uneventful as I assumed it would be. The floor and wall of the room were a standard white color, with the staircase being a dark gray. We were only ten feet away from the staircase when the tile Sven stepped on went into the ground.

"Uh…please tell me I just imagined the tile sinking below me…" Sven said as the lights in the room shut off.

"Pachirisu, get rid of this darkness with Flash!" I said as Pachirisu glowed with a brilliant white light, illuminating the room once more.

Now that the darkness was cleared up, we saw exactly why the lights shut off…six Team Dim Sun admins stood in our path, blocking the staircase with their arms crossed and smug looks on their faces.

"Well now, it's about time you guys showed up. We've been waiting up in that ceiling for a while now and that's made me pretty cranky! I heard all of you moving around downstairs and knew that waiting would pay off." One of the admins said as each of them took out a Miniremo.

"Brace yourselves everyone, there's no telling what Pokémon they're going to summon!" Sven said in a hushed tone.

We didn't have to wait for long, as we soon saw a group of Pokémon drop from the ceiling, three Crobat, two Yanmega and a Gligar. Each of us got into position as the Pokémon charged at us with all their speed.

"Raichu, use Thunderbolt on those Yanmega and Crobat!" Jim said.

"Pachirisu, follow up with Quick Attack!" I said.

Both Pokémon jumped into action, with Raichu first striking the Yanmega, hitting the two of them directly, making them briefly lose flight as I made some loops around them. The Crobat on the other hand managed to dodge both the Thunderbolt and the Quick Attack, though both of those moves were able to hit the Gligar behind the trio.

"Guys, I'll help out with the Gligar!" Jim said as he quickly made loops around the dazed Pokémon.

"Thanks Jim, we'll do our part too!" Wendy said as we focused our attention on the Yanmega and Crobat.

"Alright, Buneary, use Hi Jump Kick on those Crobat!" Luana said as Buneary jumped up high and landed a solid hit on two of the Crobat.

"Good work, now Pachirisu, hit those Crobat with another Thunder Wave!" I said.

All of the Crobat managed to get hit and were immediately paralyzed from the Thunder Wave. I quickly started drawing loops around them, however, the Yanmega recovered and attempted to fly directly at me.

"Vulpix, Fire Spin!" Sven said as the two Yanmega were cloaked in flames as their movements slowed down.

"Awesome work guys. Jim, let me know if you need any help with that Gligar!" I said.

"No worries Kellyn, I almost got it captured!" Jim said.

I quickly turned around to see that Jim was right, less than a second after making that statement, Jim managed to capture the Gligar as it went off to the side, thankfully free from its trance.

"Good work Jim!" I said as I turned back around while Jim came over to help us.

After that, it was a bit more easier dealing with the Crobat and Yanmega. Although they were fast, the moves from our Pokémon still managed to impact them as they either slowed down considerably or were paralyzed completely. Sven, Wendy and Jim each managed to capture the Crobat while I captured one of the Yanmega. All of the admins were furious by this point and began to panic considering that there was only one Pokémon left to capture. However, the Yanmega tried to strike at Wendy with Air Slash, which she barely avoided…this only infuriated the cranky admin, who began typing even more ferociously than before.

"You guys are pretty good…but let's see how long you can stay alive…" The admin said with a sinister chuckle.

The Yanmega started to charge up a move and I had no idea what it was, but I knew that we needed to avoid it at all costs. We didn't have to wait for long as the Yanmega fired a powerful Hyper Beam that was heading directly for me. I couldn't move a single muscle…it was like my feet were stuck to the floor. In the nick of time, Luana tackled me out of the way as I heard the Hyper Beam destroy the wall behind me.

"Kellyn…are you alright?" Luana asked.

"Yes…just a bit shaken up…" I said.

"It's okay, I knew I had to act quickly, no worries, we'll help you out with this Yanmega!" Luana said as I sat on the ground to compose myself.

_'__I just couldn't deal with that Yanmega's Hyper Beam…just like Luana said…seeing such a powerful move had me paralyzed with fear. I'm glad Luana was the closest to me, if she was even a foot away from me, I'd be done for.' _I thought to myself as Luana had her Buneary attack the Yanmega with Hi Jump Kick.

After taking a few seconds to compose myself, I stood back up and rushed over to help with the capture. I smiled when I glanced at my Styler, as the Yanmega's friendship meter slowly began to fill up. Sven, Wendy and Jim were fighting back against the other admins and I immediately went over to Luana's side so I can help her out with the capture. The Yanmega was resting on the ground as it was still a bit tired from using Hyper Beam, though this only annoyed the lead admin even further.

"Gah! Blasted Rangers…move you stupid Yanmega!" The admin said.

I looked to see Wendy, Jim and Sven tying up the other admins and knew that I had to help out as well.

"Pachirisu, use Thunder Wave on that Yanmega!" I said as Pachirisu released an electric jolt on the grounded Yanmega.

"Thanks Kellyn! That'll make things easier for me!" Luana said as she made a halfway loop around the Yanmega as I quickly charged up her Styler to its second phase.

Now that the Styler was charged and the Yanmega was paralyzed, Luana didn't need to worry about dealing with such a fast Pokémon head on. Luana continued to make loops around the Yanmega, slowly filling up its friendship meter while I had Pachirisu continue using Thunder Wave whenever it was about to break free from paralysis. Even though it was a tough battle at first, now it was much more manageable, especially with everyone else cheering us on. After a few more loops were done, Luana successfully captured the Yanmega without any damage to her Styler. After that, all of the Pokémon that were previously caught went downstairs and the admin that was enraged then screamed in further frustration as his Miniremo went up in smoke.

"I can't believe I lost to these guys…" The admin said as Sven quickly tied him up

"I think your rage was what got the better of you." I said as the admin scowled at me while the other five admins simply sighed in defeat.

"That may be true…but I was close to killing you with that Yanmega's Hyper Beam." The admin said.

"That's enough. Looks like this floor is all clear guys, should we head to the next one?" Luana asked as she glared at the admin, stunning him into complete silence.

"Yes, we have to go to the seventeenth floor right away. As for these guys…we should leave them here but…what if they manage to escape?" Wendy said.

"They won't try anything, let's head over to the staircase." Sven said as we all went over to the staircase, this time, uninterrupted.

Sven, Wendy and Jim headed up the staircase first, I waited for Luana so that we could go together and saw that she was already by my side ready to go. However, she held my arm before I could even take a step forward.

"Hm? What's wrong Luana?" I asked as I saw how troubled Luana looked.

"Kellyn, that Hyper Beam…that could have easily killed you and…and I wouldn't know what I would do if that happened. But…I can already tell how much it affected you, not that I blame you for it. Besides, you saw what that move did to the steel wall." Luana said as I cringed upon seeing the large opening in the wall.

"I…I know…thank you for saving me Luana, I don't even know how I can even repay you for saving my life so many times. Just seeing that Hyper Beam heading directly for me was by far one of the most terrifying things I've ever experienced." I said as we both walked up the stairway.

"I can certainly see why you were so terrified, especially considering how well you keep your composure in dangerous situations. Regardless, you don't have to repay me Kellyn, being by your side is more than enough for me." Luana said as the two of us smiled at one another and headed up the staircase.

"Ah, we're finally at the seventeenth floor…it looks like the layout from all the other ones, do you think Pokémon are going to be trapped here too?" Jim asked.

"I really hope not…either way, let's see what's in these rooms." I said.

We all began to search the rooms one by one, but these rooms weren't empty. Instead, they were filled with office chairs and other office supplies.  
"Huh…this is strange, I thought that Team Dim Sun wouldn't have any use for this stuff." Sven said.

"Knowing them, they probably had this stuff on the lower floors for the employees and put them up here as they focused more on trying to have every Pokémon under their control." Luana said.

"Yeah, that is a possibility, either way…I'm not liking this place at all…it's creeping me out." Wendy said.

"We did encounter a lot of things on the way up here, like those hostile admins we just faced. On the plus side, there doesn't appear to be anything else on this floor, so let's go on to the next one." Sven said as we headed up to the eighteenth floor.

The eighteenth floor was a very different change of pace compared to the other floors. This floor was wide open and had four rooms to go into. From where we stood, each of us cautiously looked around for any cameras, grunts or admins that could have spotted us and were relieved to not find any of them in sight.

"Wow, this floor looks like it'll take a while. Splitting up definitely doesn't seem like it'll be a safe option…let's head through here carefully and stay on our guard at all times." I said.

We opened the first door that was closest to the staircase we just came from and discovered a large lab. Heading into the lab, we discovered that it was very unkempt with papers all over the floor and several computers on a nearby table which were either powered on or completely smashed. At the very back of the room was a large steel statue, which looked just like the rock statue Luana and I encountered in the cave near the Ranger Union and the ice statue we saw in Almia Castle.

"Well, at least we know where the last of the Regi Trio is." Luana said as she marked the location on our map.

"The Regi Trio? I've read about them! So this thing is actually Registeel?" Jim asked.

"It certainly looks like it! I was wondering where the last of the trio was…I never would have thought any of them would be here." I said.

"Hahah, definitely! There doesn't appear to be anything else of note in this room though, maybe some of the other rooms would have something?" Sven asked.

"Yeah, that could be the case, most of the rooms we've been in have been interesting to say the least. Let's see what the other rooms have in store for us." Luana said as we exited the lab.

Heading back outside the main area, we headed towards what we initially thought was a door, though we were very glad to see that it was an elevator. We all decided to search around some more and saw a door across from the staircase, which we entered. This room looked like it was being used as a break room, with a few vending machines by the wall and a couple of microwaves on a small table. There was also a door at the back of the room which we were about to head over to, if it weren't for a couple of female Team Dim Sun grunts hastily coming out of the room, only to freeze in place upon seeing us.

"Ack! Rangers! What are they doing here?" The first grunt asked.

"I don't know, but we have to stop them, or the boss is going to be real mad!" The second grunt said as the two of them took out Miniremos.

_'__I wonder what Pokémon we'll face this time…hopefully I'll be able to do my best to keep everyone safe.' _I thought to myself as we all braced ourselves for whatever Pokémon we may be fighting.

It didn't take us long to wait for the mind-controlled Pokémon to be summoned, though it was surprising to see two Drapion emerge from the room the two grunts came out from. The two Pokémon let out a fierce screech as the two grunts snickered. All of us got into position as the Drapion charged forward, faster than I ever thought a Drapion could move.

"Woah, these Drapion are fast!" Sven said.

"Sven! A Drapion's to your right!" I shouted as Sven narrowly avoiding getting his head clamped by the Drapion.

"W-woah…thanks Kellyn! You really saved me there!" Sven said as he had Vulpix use Flamethrower on the two Drapion.

"No problem Sven! Pachirisu, go ahead and strike those Drapion with Thunderbolt!" I said.

Pachirisu released a surge of electricity at the Drapion, sending the two Pokémon flying back as the two grunts became angered at this. The two grunts then continued to type into their Miniremos while Luana and I made loops around the Pokémon.

"Kellyn, Luana, don't you worry, I'll help you two out!" Wendy said as she had Vulpix trap both Drapion with a Fire Spin, slowing them down considerably.

"Thanks Wendy, that's just what we needed!" I said.

Sven and Wendy then took over with the capture while Jim had Raichu strike the Drapion with a Thunder Wave, which they managed to shrug off. The Drapion then launched forward and unleashed Sludge Bomb right at Jim and Raichu. Jim couldn't dodge in time, but the Sludge Bomb got absorbed thanks to Raichu negating it with Protect, furthering angering the grunts.

Luana and I saw the Drapion's friendship meters rising gradually, though both Sven and Wendy had to stop making loops around the Pokémon because the Drapion soon started to spit toxic puddles on the ground, melting the steel floor within seconds.

"Be very careful with their Poison Sting Wendy, these grunts are really focused on taking all of us down!" Sven said.

"Yeah, I'm just glad they haven't tried using that move yet!" Wendy whispered.

The two Drapion then took aim at Wendy and Sven with a Sludge Bomb, which they were lucky to miss considering how fast the move travelled throughout the room. Despite a very tough battle, Wendy managed to capture one of the Drapion after her valiant effort.


	62. Chapter 62: Inside Altru Tower: Part 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon in any way, shape or form despite wanting to!**

Chapter 62: Inside Altru Tower: Part 3

"Nice work Wendy, we'll help you guys out with the other Drapion!" I said.

Luana, Jim and I went over to Sven along with our Partner Pokémon, though this only served to make the grunts angrier.

_'__Man, these grunts and admins…the way they're acting is like they're being influenced by the Shadow Crystal…' _I thought to myself.

Even though the other Drapion was off to the side, that still didn't mean things would be easy for us. In fact, the Drapion tried swinging its tail at us, knocking down the microwaves and vending machines in a frenzied effort to harm or even kill us.

"Okay, Pachirisu, strike Drapion with a Thunderbolt!" I said as Pachirisu released a powerful jolt of electricity at the Drapion.

The Drapion reeled back from the blow and collided with the two grunts, who began to shout at the Pokémon as it got off of them. Afterwards, the Drapion clambered back up and tried to clamp down on me, though I was lucky to dodge it.

"Vulpix, use Fire Spin on that Drapion!" Wendy said as the Drapion shielded itself to avoid any burns, though the fierce flames managed to make it slow down a bit.

"Nice work Wendy!" Sven asked as Wendy grinned and made loops around the Drapion.

Unfortunately, the Drapion was able to dispel the flames surrounding it and turned towards Wendy in an effort to attack her.

"Woah! Raichu, use Thunder Wave!" Jim said as Raichu paralyzed the Drapion.

Capture was much easier for Wendy to pull off now that the Drapion was paralyzed. It wasn't too hard for Wendy to fill up the friendship meter more than before considering that she and Sven had filled up the friendship meter on both Pokémon quite a lot. The Drapion was captured after just a few more loops were made around the paralyzed Pokémon. Afterwards, both Pokémon broke free from their mind control and sauntered out of the room as the grunts' Miniremos began to emit black smoke, causing the ceiling sprinklers to come on as the two fled the room.

A short while later, the sprinklers came off and we went into the area the grunts and Pokémon came out of, thinking something of importance would be there, though there were only a few chairs and tables. Once we were finished there, we exited out of the destroyed room back into the main area, all of us were going to discuss which room to go into next until the building began to shake, even more so than previously.

"Man…this shaking is really getting to me…are you all okay?" Sven asked as we all nodded.

"Good thing we're all okay, what was that all about?" Jim asked.

"I'm certain it's something to do with the Shadow Crystal…we have to get up there fast but…the lack of elevators doesn't make it easy." I said.

"Yeah, there isn't even a way of knowing where some of these doors can take us! The Styler's map isn't working when we really need it." Wendy said.

"That is pretty frustrating, all we can do now is head into the last room." Sven said.

The last room we hadn't entered was flanked by solid steel double doors, looking sinister with every step we took towards them. Luana and I touched the handles, which were abnormally cold to the touch and we opened the heavy doors and entered the room. All of us began to shiver upon immediate entrance into the room, even Pachirisu and Buneary were trembling a bit, despite their thick fur. The room started out in a narrow hallway, though I noticed a more open area up ahead, even so, none of us could see much further than that due to the dense mist surrounding us. We all traversed through the room slowly since everything from the chairs, to the walls and floor were covered in ice.

"Y-y-you know…I…I have a feeling Ice is in this room…t-this seems like something he'd do just to mess with us…" Wendy said.

"Yeah…I-I could see him doing that…t-the battles have b-been p-pretty intense. It…r-really worries me about w-what we could be f-facing here." Sven said as we continued moving through the hallway.

"I-I'm just as w-worried, these g-grunts and admins h-have been s-so dangerous…I j-just hope Ice isn't as b-bad as they are…" I said as we reached the open area in the back.

Surprisingly, Ice wasn't the one standing in the center of the room, but it was an admin with his back turned to us and a thick coat covering him up. The admin turned around with a grin on his face, though unlike the other members of Team Dim Sun, he didn't have one of malice, instead, he had a playful expression on his face.

"Oh man…it's about time you Rangers showed up! That fool Ice had me in here for hours!" The admin said.

"R-r-really? W-well at least you had a coat on…" Jim said.

"Yeah, I had to take one before Ice forced me to come here. I'm honestly thinking of leaving, it's ridiculous with his treatment of us recently. You guys were heading to the boss, right?" The admin asked.

"Er yes, we are." Wendy hesitantly said.

"Sounds good to me, here's the key for the elevator, Ice locked it up but I'm deserting Team Dim Sun for good. Here, take it." The admin said as he handed me the key.

"Thanks, well guys, let's head out of here." Luana said as we left the room, with the admin walking behind us.

_'__Something seems off, while Team Dim Sun doesn't treat their people good from what we've seen, the admin being in this room by himself seems suspicious. Maybe he was just trying to act friendly to us and lead us into a trap.' _I thought to myself as we watched the admin run down the staircase.

"Okay, I don't know about you guys, but did something not seem right about…any of that?" I asked.

"Yeah, that admin hanging around in such a freezing room simply handed us a key and then bolted downstairs." Sven said.

"The entire thing was really strange to me, even though I could see how he'd want to desert Team Dim Sun, him being in that room certainly didn't make him seem as if he could be trusted. The admin could have just waited outside for us if he really wanted to hand us the key." Luana said.

"How about we do this…let's go ahead and open the elevator doors with this key and test it out. It could easily be a trap just like with the first elevator." I said as I unlocked the door.

"Good idea, let's try that out. I'll go first and try going up a floor, then I'll just come back down with you guys." Jim said as he got on the elevator.

"Are you sure Jim? Isn't that dangerous?" Sven asked.

"Oh believe me, I know it is but…I'd rather test it out than have one of you guys do it and then something happens. I'll be back in a bit, let me just go ahead and go to the eighteenth floor." Jim said as he pushed the button with the doors closing soon after.

All of us looked at each other, as we were clearly very worried about Jim's safety, even more so as the elevator began to ascend to the next floor. A minute or so had passed and the elevator came back down to where it originally was. We all breathed a sigh of relief as the doors opened with Jim grinning happily.

"That was a big risk you took Jim, but you certainly don't appear scared at all!" Wendy said.

"I definitely was! I started to worry once the doors closed and I started to move up, though when the elevator doors opened on the eighteenth floor, I saw something strange." Jim said.

"Strange? What did you see that was so strange?" Sven asked.

"Well…the lights on the eighteenth floor were flickering really fast…I wasn't even there for a minute or so but I felt really creeped out." Jim said.

"Huh…that is pretty weird, we'll have to take extra caution heading to the next floor." Luana said as we all got on the elevator.

Sven pressed the button and the doors closed as we began to make our way to the eighteenth floor. A short while later, we were on the eighteenth floor and the doors opened, with the floor being just as Jim described. The fact that the lights were flickering on and off quickly certainly made things very troubling and I tried thinking of any solution that could resolve such a problem, though nothing came up.

"These flickering lights are really messing with my eyes…there has to be a breaker box or a switch or…something to make these lights go back to normal, right?" Wendy asked.

"Yeah…there has to be a way to fix these lights. Let's try looking for something at the end of this hallway." Sven said.

Though it was hard for me to see, all of us made our way through the hallway, which was barren of anything. We continued walking down the hallway until I heard a click and suddenly, all the lights came on and stayed on. Looking down at the floor, I saw that Wendy had stepped on a small gray switch embedded into the ground.

"Wow…this place is full of surprises…I'm just glad we can see without any issues now. What do you guys think is at the end of this hallway?" Wendy asked.

"I'd say it's probably a room filled with Team Dim Sun grunts considering how many traps we've encountered in this place." Jim said.

"I hope that's not the case, let's keep going!" I said.

We soon reached the end of the hallway, which opened out to a much more spacious room that had two doors across from each other.

"More doors? Man…this place is like a maze. Well…I guess all we can do is head through the doors! Let's just hope no grunts or admins really are waiting for us on the other side of either door, now that would be a nightmare." Sven said as we approached the door to our left.

"Don't you worry Sven. We've been doing great the entire time, even more so when considering how dangerous these grunts and admins are acting. Let's head through this door and see what's behind it!" I said as we opened the door.

Entering the room revealed a lab unlike anything we've seen before. It was high tech with various monitors, computers and equipment all over the room. However, there was something that caught Luana's attention right away and when I followed where her fearful eyes were, I realized exactly why she looked so troubled. At the back of the room surrounded by three scientists was a shiny Eevee trapped in a cage, shivering and whimpering as the two men continuously typed on their laptops with their backs to us.

"Oh no…we have to do something! Should we try subduing those guys?" Jim whispered.

"Yeah, I think we should, that Eevee's clearly in distress. We can hide behind that cabinet." I said as we all slowly approached the scientists.

All of us got closer to the scientists, who were still busy inputting information, though we managed to pick up on their discussion of the little Eevee as we hid out of their view. Upon closer inspection, I could see how cramped the cage was…it was barely enough for the Eevee to even lie down in and worse off was the fact that the cage was built into the ground, meaning Eevee couldn't even try to escape.

"So Franklin, when are we running those tests on this runt?" The scientist asked.

"We could do them now Jon. If we manage to figure out why Pokémon can be shiny, then we'll be able to hand this information off to the boss and he'll be rich. After that, you and I will get promoted. What test do you want to do first?" Franklin asked.

"Well…we could forcibly extract some of this Eevee's DNA, but this Eevee is really feisty, it might be whimpering now, but it bit me earlier. Look at this!" Jon said.

"Ugh! That's nasty man, don't show me that!" Franklin said.

"Sorry, I just hope being bitten by this Eevee doesn't turn my brown hair white." Jon said.

"You're an idiot Jon. Looks like we'll have to tie this Eevee up thanks to its behavior." Franklin said as we came out from the table.

"Hold it right there!" Luana said as the two men turned around.

"W-w-what?! Why are Rangers here?" Jon asked.

"Who cares why they're here! Sound the alarm, these are the Rangers that Kincaid was telling us about!" Franklin said.

Franklin and Jon both attempted to flee, however, Sven and Jim managed to subdue them before they could get any further. While Wendy got the zip ties to restrain Franklin and Jon, Luana and I crouched down at the Eevee so it wouldn't feel intimidated. Thankfully, the Eevee could tell our intentions weren't bad and ceased its shivering. Buneary, eager to help, hopped up to the Eevee's cage and began communicating with it, which made the Eevee go to the back of the cramped cage and sit down.

"Buneary, you told Eevee we would free it, didn't you?" Luana asked as Buneary cheerfully nodded.

"Don't fret any longer Eevee, we're getting you out of here." I said as I used all my strength to pry the bars open.

Once that was done, I gently took the Eevee out of the cage, its snow white fur brilliantly shining as it first looked at me and then Luana. Seeing such joy on Eevee's face made me happy and more determined than ever to take down Team Dim Sun. In fact, I was essentially distracted with petting Eevee until I looked over at everyone else, Jim and Sven finished tying up the two scientists while Wendy brought over two chairs, I went ahead and got Franklin to his feet as Jim did the same with Jon, with the both of us putting them in the two chairs.

"Are you sure you Rangers can't let us go? We weren't going to hurt that Eevee at all!" Jon said.

"If we didn't see you guys, then that would have been a smart thing to say. But since we saw and heard everything, that's not exactly the best lie ever." Sven said as I held Eevee in my arms.

"Ouch, that's harsh. You guys aren't exactly nice, are you?" Franklin asked.

"That certainly wasn't harsh, he's actually right. Besides…you guys were about to harm an Eevee purely for profit, yet that rebuttal makes us the bad guys? Ridiculous, let's go everyone." I said as we walked out of the room.

"Those two were horrible. On a more positive note, this Eevee is absolutely adorable!" Jim said as he gently poke Eevee's nose, which made it giggle.

"I know, it's great that the Partner Pokémon have taken quite a liking to Eevee already!" I said as Eevee hopped out of my arms and ran around me before joining the Partner Pokémon behind us.

"Such a cute Pokémon…now then, with a new Pokémon to help us out along the way, how about we go and see what's in the other room on the right?" Sven asked as we approached the door on our right.

"Sure, then we'll head back to the elevator and see what the other floors are going to be like." Wendy said as we opened the door.

This room was completely different compared to the last one, instead of it being another lab, this room was a massive kitchen. Luckily for us, the kitchen was empty, there weren't any people or Pokémon inside, but we figured a bit of exploring wouldn't be a problem. The kitchen itself was filthy, with various utensils and bowls strewn about, with all of them being extremely dirty. As we stepped over some spilled food, we saw the walk in freezer and were about to head past it without any concern…until the door began to shake.

"Uh…am I imagining that?" Jim asked.

"No, I'm seeing the door shake too…now I'm wondering what's behind this door." I said.

The door soon burst open and nearly came off of its hinges as something sauntered out of the freezer on all fours and covered in a black cloth.

"W-what is that?" Sven asked.

"I don't know…let me see…" I said as I slowly approached the weird lump.

Feeling nervous, I quickly moved the cloth up, only to see a grunt looking up at me. I was so flabbergasted by what I saw that I ended up recoiling and headed back over to everyone else.

"What's with Team Dim Sun and being in cold places?" Wendy asked as the grunt hopped to his feet.

"Silence! Team Dim Sun is here to take you Rangers down!" The grunt said as he began to type on his Miniremo.

"Oh no…what are we facing this time?" Sven asked.

We didn't have to wait long to find out, as an enraged Abomasnow came out of the same walk in freezer and bumped into a nearby table. This only angered the Pokémon further, and it tossed the table directly at us, narrowly missing our heads.

"Alright guys, it's time to shine! Pachirisu, paralyze that Abomasnow!" I said.

Pachirisu struck the Abomasnow and it was unable to move as I made loops around it, with Vulpix and Sven preparing for their chance to attack off to the side. I continued to make loops around the Abomasnow, though at this point it was attempting to break free of paralysis. Noticing this, Sven stepped forward with Vulpix and I let him take over.

"Vulpix, slow down that Abomasnow with Fire Spin!" Sven said as Vulpix unleashed a large spiral of fire around the Abomasnow, making the Pokémon grow tired as it no longer attacked as much.

Sven made loops around the Abomasnow and I watched as the Pokémon's friendship meter continued filling up, reaching around sixty percent. However, I cautiously looked at the grunt, who appeared extremely focused on what he was doing on his Miniremo. In a swift motion, the Abomasnow waved its massive arms in a sideways sweeping motion, dispelling the fire surprisingly quickly despite the weakness it had.

"Heh, how do you Rangers like that? This Pokémon isn't going down with a fight, especially with me around!" The grunt said.

"We're not losing to you! Buneary, use Hi Jump Kick!" Luana said as Buneary sprang up and struck Abomasnow directly, knocking it back a few feet.

"Gah! You guys are good…now I know not to hold back!" The grunt said as Abomasnow recovered its footing.

"Buneary, we need your Poké Assist!" Luana said as Buneary's Poké Assist activated.

I then had Pachirisu paralyze the Abomasnow again, right as it began charging up an Ice Beam. Now with Buneary's Poké Assist in effect, I helped Sven out as I made loops around the Abomasnow, doing my best to take full advantage of how easily the Pokémon's friendship meter continued to increase. Just like before, the Abomasnow was beginning to break free of paralysis, so I continued having Pachirisu stun it while making quick loops around it. However, Pachirisu got tired and had to rest, so he went off to the side so he could recover quickly.

"Vulpix, follow up with a Flamethrower!" Wendy said as Vulpix unleashed a powerful stream of fire on the Abomasnow, which managed to lower its speed once more.

"Kellyn, I'll help you out!" Luana said as she took over from me.

"Phew, thanks Luana!" I said.

Luana made loops around the Abomasnow while I went to check on Pachirisu, who had Eevee as company. I heard footsteps behind me as I was crouched down by Pachirisu and saw that it was Wendy and Jim.  
"Hi Kellyn, how's Pachirisu doing?" Jim asked.

"He's doing okay, he's just tuckered out. He'll be fully energized maybe fifteen minutes from now." I said.

"Oh good! We were all worried that Pachirisu used up too much of his electricity. You know that Electric types can easily wear themselves out." Wendy said as I saw the Abomasnow paralyzed.

"Oh yeah, I know. I'll leave him here to relax, let's go help Luana and Sven out!" I said as we quickly headed back over.

"H-hey, that isn't fair, it's hard to concentrate when there's so many of you around! Abomasnow, take those Rangers out!" The grunt said as Abomasnow fired an Ice Beam at us.

The Ice Beam travelled fast towards us, though it was mainly headed at Luana. Since I was only a few feet from Luana, I quickly closed the distance and tackled her to the ground as the Ice Beam passed over everyone.

"Luana, are you hurt?" I asked as I brought Luana to her feet.

"No, I'm okay thanks to you saving me." Luana said as the grunt began to fume.

"Sven, you know what to do!" Jim said as Sven had Vulpix use Flamethrower on the Abomasnow, making it become sluggish.

I rushed in to help Sven out as I made loops around the Abomasnow, trying to do my best and fill its friendship meter up. However, just like before, the Abomasnow moved its arms around, managing to dissipate the flames after only a few seconds. Wanting to finish with this capture so none of us got harmed, I went ahead and hesitated my Capture Disc for a few seconds, which was just long enough for Luana to charge the Capture Line to its second stage. The Abomasnow then attacked Sven and Jim with Razor Leaf, which they both avoided by taking cover behind some cabinets in the nick of time. I quickly looked over at the Partner Pokémon, seeing that Pachirisu was still recovering and Vulpix now getting tired made me worried, though I knew that Buneary and Raichu still had energy, I didn't want them to use their Poké Assists and get tired as well in the event that we have to fight another grunt or admin.

"_Now how else can I slow this Abomasnow down…there has to be some way I can make this easier for everyone_." I thought to myself as I made loops around the Pokémon, fully in focus.

As I was making loops around the Abomasnow, I noticed the grunt wasn't where he was beforehand. I looked around to see where he could be before focusing back on the Abomasnow, thinking the grunt got annoyed and just fled. In a split second, I felt myself punched in the face by the grunt, stopping me from my attempted capture on the Abomasnow. The grunt took out a knife and tried slashing me with it, though I was able to block his swift hand movement and disarm him. I was prepared to punch the grunt in retaliation, though Luana and Jim tackled him to the ground. After a few more loops were made, the Abomasnow was captured and the Miniremo malfunctioned soon afterwards as the Pokémon walked back into the large freezer.

"Gah! Can't you Rangers let me go?" The grunt asked.

"No, you're staying here after that little assault." Luana said.

"Seriously? C'mon lady, that was just a sucker punch!" The grunt said.

Jim and Luana got the grunt up to his feet and placed him down on the nearby chair.

"You almost had that Abomasnow kill us, we're definitely not going to untie you." Jim said.

"Hmph, fine, be that way." The grunt said as the Abomasnow came back out from the freezer.

"Uh oh…what does Abomasnow want? Is it going to attack us?" Sven asked.

Despite what Sven initially though, the Abomasnow instead used some leaves and conjured up some vines to wrap around the grunt's body, trapping him in place as the Pokémon then walked back inside the freezer.

"Well uh…I guess there's your answer. So will you guys reconsider freeing me now?" The grunt asked.

"Certainly not, let's go guys." I said as we exited the room and headed back to the elevator.

"Man, these floors are grueling…we're only on the eighteenth floor as well. How many floors does this place have again?" Wendy asked.

"It has sixty floors, let's try heading as close to the rooftop as we can. I didn't really check what floor the elevator went up to." Luana said as Sven's Styler began to ring.


	63. Chapter 63: Inside Altru Tower: Part 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, but I sure do love it!**

**A/N: This chapter shows how insane a certain person truly is.**

Chapter 63: Inside Altru Tower: Part 4

"Sven, how's the trek going through the tower?" Linda asked.

"It's a difficult climb, but Wendy, Jim and I have been doing our best to help out Kellyn and Luana." Sven said.

"I'm glad that you guys are helping them out but…we have serious problems happening. The Ranger Union is coming under attack even more than before and even Keith, Crawford and Barlow can't keep up with the large amounts of Pokémon trying to swarm the place!" Linda said as we all turned wide eyed.

"Okay, Sven, how about Luana and I head over there?" I asked as Sven shook his head.

"No way Kellyn, you and Luana are much more capable of handling Team Dim Sun. If the Ranger Union ends up being taking over…there's no telling what will happen. Linda, can you give an estimate of how many Pokémon are attacking the Union?" Sven asked.

"How many? There's at least a hundred Pokémon running amok here." Linda said.

"A h-hundred? W-what about the Ranger Base?" Wendy asked.

"The Ranger Base attack was ceased after Barlow captured the Pokémon that were there. Elaine, Jen and Ollie helped with rounding up the grunts as well. The Ranger Base is safe, but Team Dim Sun's main concern is to bring down the Ranger Union itself. There are several citizens being attacked in Pueltown by the mind-controlled Pokémon, but Area Rangers are doing their best to help." Linda said.

"This is awful…Kellyn, Luana. The two of us are going to help out the Ranger Base, there's going to be a lot of chaos if it ends up being taken over!" Sven said.

"Can I help you guys out? I want Almia to be at peace, it's why I'm training to be a Ranger after all." Jim said.

"Yes! We need all the help we can get! Sven, Wendy, Jim, your help is more essential than ever. Come back with the gems once everything at the Ranger Union is finished!" Linda said.

"Got it! Kellyn, Luana, you two got this! We'll capture the rampant Pokémon attacking the Union and then come back here to help you guys out!" Wendy said as Sven quickly hanged up.

"Thanks Wendy. Sven, make sure that you, Wendy and Jim stay safe…it's going to be a very tough battle over there and here." Luana said.

"We'll do our best! Do you mind if we take Raichu and Vulpix with us?" Sven asked.

"Definitely, their Poké Assists will be helpful!" I said.

"That's exactly what I thought, thanks Kellyn! C'mon Jim, let's go save the Ranger Union!" Sven said as Vulpix and Raichu went over to the trio, who then said their goodbyes before running off.

"We should get going too Luana, let's take down Team Dim Sun!" I said as I pressed the elevator button.

"You bet! It'll be difficult to do…but we've faced many challenges before!" Luana said as the elevator doors opened.

Luana and I both entered the elevator with Pachirisu, Buneary and Eevee happily at our side. Despite whatever it was we were going to face on the upper floors…we knew that all of us had to continue, for the sake of Almia. Now that I took my time to observe the elevator, I saw that it went up to the fortieth floor.

"How strange…the elevator doesn't go to the rooftop or at least close to it! Oh well, let's keep trekking through these floors!" I said.

"That's the spirit Kellyn! We can do this, let's just stay as determined and focused as we've always been!" Luana said as I pressed the button, with the elevator doors soon closing as we began to rise.

"Haha, you bet we will! It feels a bit…surreal though, it's like how it was in the beginning, with you and I working together. I mean, for the rest of this climb, the two of us and our Partner Pokémon will be going up the tower…it's pretty reassuring then if just you or me had to do this by ourselves." I said.

"I agree, though I am nervous, I mean sure, we'll be on the fortieth floor and then we only got about twenty more floors to traverse…but it also takes us closer to Blake Hall." Luana said.

"You're right…it does. But we have to stop him before he brings any destruction to Almia!" I said.

"Blake Hall can have any Pokémon at his beck and call, but you are correct…let's take him down!" Luana said as we gave each other a high five.

Luana and I waited for the elevator to continue going up, albeit impatiently as we were feeling ready to face any challenges. A few minutes later, the elevator announced that we had reached the fortieth floor and its doors opened. We both stepped out to see several large wires running along the length of the large room, which was shaped like an upside down U, along with a doorway to our right and several large windows around the entire room.

"Wow, we've come a far way up…I'm curious to see how the Ranger Union's doing." I said as Luana and I headed over to the giant window.

I couldn't see the chaos in full detail due to the purple cloud that seemingly wrapped around the window, however, I could tell that the Ranger Union had taken some damage even from this distance. Nothing extensive, but it certainly wasn't as pristine as it always is. Seeing the Ranger Union like that really upset me and it only further strengthened our resolve to save Almia.

"How awful…I hope that everyone at the Ranger Union is going to be okay…" Luana said.

"Don't you worry, they will be. Let's head into this room!" I said as we went into the room.

Upon entering the room, we saw that it was an office room of sorts. A large wooden desk was to the right and there was a computer on top of the desk, there was also a small fridge and a few metal cabinets next to it as well. We walked further into the room when my Styler began to ring, which I quickly picked up.

"Hi Kellyn and Luana. I have great news for you guys, thanks to an update Isaac made, you two can now open the hearts of Pokémon even if they're under mind-control! It's already been installed in your Stylers." Marcus said.

"Really? That's awesome Marcus!" I said.

"It sure is, in fact, there's a Pokémon you can use it on in the same room you guys are in! Keep up the great work you two, we'll try holding down the fort here, the Rangers are slowly capturing the Pokémon without any issue." Marcus said.

"Thanks Marcus, we'll put your information to good use. Stay safe!" I said as Marcus hanged up.

"Now let's go find that Pokémon!" Luana said as we looked throughout the room before laying eyes on the desk.

The two of us slowly approached the desk and went around the side, spotting a Growlithe that was in severe pain.

"Oh no…it's okay Growlithe, we're here to help. Capture on!" I said as I made loops around the small Pokémon.

The Growlithe was in agonizing pain like the other mind controlled Pokémon that we've encountered, however, due to the Shadow Crystal's location being here and influencing the Pokémon and possibly the grunts, the pain the Pokémon were going through was much more severe. I made sure to make quick work in filling up the Pokémon's friendship meter as the sooner I do it, the sooner the Growlithe doesn't suffer. After making a few more loops, the Growlithe reacted by doing a fast moving Ember, which managed to char my shirt, since the damage was miniscule, I continued with making loops around the Pokémon and I successfully captured it.

Just as Marcus described, the mind-controlled Growlithe broke out of its trance and hopped towards me, though Luana was understandably concerned because of the burn on my shirt.

"Kellyn, how badly are you hurt?" Luana asked as she inspected my uniform.

"I'm alright Luana, I'm so glad that the Styler can capture Pokémon being influenced by the Shadow Crystal. Let's head back outside and see this floor in more detail." I said as we both headed out of the room.

Luana and I headed around the upside down U shape where we saw a sturdy electrical fence blocking us from the staircase to our left. On the right was a solid steel door with blue flames on the front and an Arcanine.

"You know what we have to do." Luana said as we jumped into action.

"Pachirisu, use Thunder Wave on that Arcanine!" I said as Pachirisu struck the Pokémon, making it unable to move.

I quickly made loops around the Arcanine while Luana repeatedly had Pachirisu paralyze it whenever it started to break free. The Arcanine's friendship meter increased slowly but surely, though the paralysis wore off as Pachirisu got tired. The Arcanine then unleashed a Flamethrower at us, which made Luana and I quickly get on the floor for cover. Once we got back up, the Arcanine tried to use what looked like a Fire Blast, luckily for us, I only had to do a few more loops until the Arcanine was captured. Once that was finished, the majestic Pokémon sauntered over and joined our Partner Pokémon, as well as Growlithe and Eevee.

Now that we had another Friend Pokémon to help us out, Luana and I were ready for Ice. We approached the doorway and noticed that the same wires we spotted upon entering the fortieth floor were going under the blue door.

"Alright everyone, let's go ahead and show Ice who's boss!" I said.

Luana and I looked at each other and we pushed open the door, knowing who we would be facing. The room itself was small, with the only thing inside being a large machine with a blue orb on top. The machine itself was nearly the size of the room and I put two and two together, realizing that the machine had to connect to the fence we spotted only moments ago.

"Looks like this thing requires a Field Move to destroy. Let's hurry up and destroy it before Ice comes here!" Luana said as I scanned the orb, revealing that it could be destroyed with a Pokémon that has a Burn power of four.

"Just what we needed, Arcanine, burn that orb!" I said as we prepared to destroy the orb.

Arcanine trudged forward to use a Fire type move, only to end up hesitating for a brief moment before walking back to us.  
"Arcanine, do you sense something…or someone?" Luana asked as the room went dark.

A thud was heard in front of us, and a moment later, the lights came back on revealing no one other than Ice standing with his hands in his pockets. Ice took a few steps toward us with a smirk on his face, which made us all back up in response.

"Well now…if it isn't Kellyn and Luana. I'm glad you two have showed up after all this time, the boss was rather annoyed that you and your friends took back the three Gems. The boss was mad at me even when I explained that the entire thing was just a way to lower your guards. As I stewed in frustration about my defeat, I became frustrated to the point that I realized that taking my anger out on you two would be far better than anything else!" Ice said as he took out a Miniremo.

As Ice began furiously typing, I knew that whatever Pokémon he sent out would be as enraged as Ice was and that bracing ourselves for the opponent was the only option we could take. Luana and I heard the sound of metal being torn open, causing us to cover our ears. I observed where the noise was coming from…to the right of the blue orb, an appendage, identical to a Garchomp's, tore through the wall and in no time, the Grachomp swiftly forced its way into the room.

_'__W-we're…we're fighting…that?!' _I thought as absolute horror came over me.

The Garchomp eyed all of us right before Ice hit a few keys on the Miniremo. All of us were clearly fear stricken, but I knew that hesitating or failing to act would lead to us getting hurt…or killed.

"Growlithe, we'll need your Poké Assist!" I said as I activated Growlithe's Poké Assist, which wrapped my Capture Line with flames.

Making loops around the Pokémon cautiously was important, as I was worried if I moved too fast, then it would retaliate and attack. Ice took note of this and typed in another command, fearing the worst, I recoiled my Styler just as Garchomp spat out two mud puddles despite its tired state. I quickly made a few more loops around the Garchomp, making sure not to slip on the mud puddles while the enflamed Capture Line tired the Pokémon out.

"Nice work Kellyn!" Luana said.

"Thanks Luana, get Buneary ready, I'll need to use her Poké Assist soon!" I said as Luana got Buneary into position.

Before either one of us could have Buneary use her Poké Assist, Garchomp began to glow a dark red, meaning that we had to head for cover. Eevee barely got out of the way before we were rushed at with a fast Tackle.

"Eevee? Are you okay?!" Luana asked as Eevee nodded, undeterred despite the close shave.

Garchomp ended up hitting the wall behind us and we turned around to see what Ice would have it do next. Surprisingly, Ice didn't have the Garchomp charge at us again, but instead made it spit mud puddles, covering the floor around it as I prepared to have Buneary use her Poké Assist.

"Alright Buneary, we need your Poké Assist!" I said as Buneary did a little dance, which helped boost my Styler's power as the Growlithe exited the room.

"Pachirisu, stun that Garchomp!" Luana said as Pachirisu successfully paralyzed the fast Pokémon.

Now that Garchomp was stunned and the Styler was able to increase the friendship meter faster, I then wasted no time in making loops around the Garchomp. Luana had to continue paralyzing the Garchomp every so often, due to the Garchomp being part Ground and shrugging off the paralysis faster than I thought was actually possible. However, I knew I had to remain focused and do my best in capturing this Pokémon while Luana and I had a pattern in place. Luana would paralyze the Garchomp whenever it would shake free from paralysis while I continued making loops around it uninterrupted. Eventually though, both Pokémon became tired and had to rest, meaning there were only a few seconds left before Garchomp would be able to move again.

"Heh, you two may have tried getting the best of me, but that ends now." Ice said as Garchomp's paralysis wore off.

Garchomp let out a fierce roar and began to charge directly at me, to make matter worse, my reaction was just like the Hyper Beam from earlier, with me being frozen in place due to fear. As I braced myself for impact, I saw Eevee darting right for the Garchomp as the large Pokémon was hit directly on its left side and went flying through the air. Garchomp wasn't able to move too much thanks to Eevee tackling it, though this certainly wasn't something that Ice would take well based on how red his face was.

"Garchomp! Get over here now, I have a plan." Ice said as he continued typing.

Garchomp limped over to Ice's side, with a smirk being prevalent on his face.

_'__This is dangerous…whatever plan he has in mind, Luana and I are going to be ready for it. We have to do this not for ourselves, but for everyone in Almia. Ice isn't going to stand in our way.' _I thought to myself as Garchomp's arms began to glow white.

"Here's a little taste of what'll happen if you two don't back down right now." Ice said as Garchomp used Slash, sending a pair of swift moving white triangles at the wall behind us, which made a large gap in the steel.

"W-we're not giving up!" I said as Ice smirked once more.

"I must say that you two are quite determined. I assumed that you two nearly getting your heads taken off would have been enough to scare you two into leaving. I'm surprised to see that I was wrong." Ice said as Pachirisu hopped up.

"Even if we did leave, you'd be the type to kill us when our backs are turned! Now enough talk. Pachirisu, use Thunder Wave!" I said as Pachirisu stunned the Garchomp, angering Ice as I made loops around the Pokémon.

The Garchomp's friendship meter slowly filled up, it was at fifty six percent before Ice's demonstration, but now it was beginning to increase steadily. Luana then took over with making loops around Garchomp while I had Pachirisu continuously paralyze the Pokémon. By the time Pachirisu got exhausted once more, Garchomp's friendship meter had risen to seventy five percent and continued to increase even as the paralysis wore off.

"Looks like you two can't paralyze my beloved Garchomp anymore. What a shame." Ice said.

We ignored Ice and continued to make loops around the Garchomp. However, it slashed at the air, making the white triangles shred the floor as we stumbled out of the way. Eevee came out of nowhere and followed up with its previous attack by giving Garchomp a powerful Headbutt, making it almost hit Ice in the process.

"Alright Eevee, good work! Now let's beat Ice!" Luana said as I took over and made loops around the Garchomp.

Garchomp then charged up rather quickly and flashed a bright purple, its eyes seething with rage.

"Hmm, maybe one of our Partner Pokémon can do something…" I said as Garchomp began to rush towards us.

"Now Garchomp…use Draco Meter on those pesky Rangers!" Ice said.

"D-did Ice just say what I think he said?" Luana asked.

"I…I think he did…" I said.

"Heh, yeah, you all heard me right. Garchomp, go ahead and use Draco Meter." Ice said.

All of us, even the rage induced Garchomp, looked at Ice like the madman he was, none of us could comprehend what he just said as a last ditch effort to get rid of us.

"W-what…are you insane?! Using Draco Meter in an enclosed space, no less a building, would be the end of all of us." I said as Ice grinned manically.

"I know that…but what's your point?" Ice asked.

"The point? The point is that even if you forced Garchomp to use Draco Meter here, then you'd kill us, even worse you would end up getting your boss killed as well. Wouldn't that bother you at all?" I asked as I tried to talk some sense into Ice.

"I know that the boss would be happy to know that I got rid of the most troublesome Rangers to ever live…even if it ended up destroying the headquarters in the process!" Ice said.

_'__Nothing is getting through to Ice…he's so adamant about taking us out that he doesn't care if he and everyone else in this building goes with us. I have to think of something drastic…aha, I know what to do!' _I thought to myself.

"Now then, enough talking. Garchomp, last time, Draco Meter." Ice said as Garchomp reluctantly faced towards us.

"Pachirisu, use Thunder Wave on Ice!" I said as Pachirisu paralyzed Ice and rendered him immobile.

"Nice work Kellyn, you just gave me an idea." Luana whispered.

"What's your plan?" I asked in a hushed tone.

"We can't destroy the Miniremos, but let's have Buneary try something." Luana said.

"I like the sound of that, let's do it." I said.

Ice glared at me with absolute fury and since he wasn't at the Miniremo to input anything, Garchomp was unsure of what to do and just looked at Ice.

"W-what are you staring at me for…? Go and k-kill them!" Ice said.

"Buneary, smash that Miniremo with Hi Jump Kick!" Luana said as Buneary sprang up and hit the Miniremo, shattering it as the machine broke into pieces.

With the Miniremo smashed, the trance that was over the Garchomp subsided and it regained its senses as it shook its head, trying to make sense of the situation. Now that the Garchomp was back to normal, it looked at us for a moment before smiling and heading out of the room. Turning our attention back to Ice, we saw that he was still struggling with the paralysis as we walked over to him.

"How did you manage to break my Miniremo…I don't understand…" Ice muttered.

"We figured that if people couldn't break it, then a Pokémon certainly could. It's over for you Ice." I said as our Partner Pokémon and Eevee jumped for joy, while Arcanine furiously glared at Ice.

"I must admit…the two of you beating me, I never thought that would have happened. Not bad you two." Ice said as Luana got on her Styler.

"Hello Marcus, we need a Ranger or two to pick up one of the Sinis Trio. We have to continue up the tower but leaving Ice by himself isn't an option." Luana said.

"No worries Luana, I understand. I'll be sending an Area Ranger your way right now. You're both in luck, she has an Alakazam as a Partner Pokémon, so she'll be there very quickly!" Marcus said.

"Thanks Marcus, we appreciate it." Luana said as she hanged up.

"So that's it then…I couldn't even escape this time. I didn't think you two would aim for me and the Miniremo." Ice said.

"We had to…it would only be a matter of time for Garchomp to use Draco Meter considering that it was under such harsh mind control. The fact that it resisted for so long despite that means that the friendship meter definitely played a role in keeping all of us alive." I said as a female Ranger and Alakazam teleported next to Ice.

"Hi guys, I'm here to take this scum to Almia's Prison. Marcus informed me of his dangerous status." The Ranger said as she cuffed Ice with zip ties.  
"Aw c'mon gorgeous, you can't let me go?" Ice asked as the Ranger took out a handkerchief, which she then placed around Ice's mouth.

"No, now keep quiet. Alakazam, take us to Almia Prison please. Good luck you two." The Ranger said before the trio vanished.

"Wow…what a battle…we all did some great work!" Luana said.

"We certainly did, let's finish what we started. Arcanine, go ahead and destroy that Orb!" I said as Arcanine nodded and walked forward.

Arcanine arched back and used a fierce Flamethrower to melt the Blue Orb, which then turned to liquid as we heard a loud noise occurring outside.

"Thank you Arcanine, great work!" Luana and I said as the Arcanine proudly smiled before sprinting out of the room.

"Awesome, now let's head upstairs!" I said as we exited the room.

Just as I thought, the noise we heard outside was the electric fence being deactivated and promptly opening. Luana and I headed upstairs, as we were more than ready to fight whoever got in our way. The fortieth first floor was a wide open room with four doors, with two on our left and right. On the right hand side was what looked like a large metal counter with four red lights on the front…to make matters worse, there was an admin standing there as still as a statue, blocking what appeared to be a doorway. In the center of the room were bathrooms which were, oddly enough, isolated from everything else on this floor. Even though we were hidden from view, the main issue is that we could clearly see the admin…meaning he could definitely see us as well. Taking into account that the admin could most likely spot us at any time, we knew that going when he wasn't looking would be the best option, especially since he looked to be more serious than any other admin we've seen.

"Okay Kellyn, when that admin's not scanning around the room, we'll go over to the bathrooms where they'll provide us with enough cover." Luana whispered.

"I like that idea, let's go in…three…two…one…now!" I said as we all sprinted over to the bathrooms.

"Huh? I could have thought I heard some people running around…" The admin said.

_'__Uh oh…since the admin heard us, he'll definitely come and check up on the noise now. If that's the case, then we have no choice but to knock him out.' _I thought to myself.

"Yeesh, how annoying. It's probably Franklin playing a stupid joke on me…he's lucky Leilani gave strict orders as usual. Bossy woman." The admin said.

"Good thing he's stuck there. Let's head into that room." I said as I motioned to the room directly in front of us.

Luana and I quickly headed into the first room and opened the door, wondering what we would see once we entered.


	64. Chapter 64: Inside Altru Tower: Part 5

**A/N: While this chapter only focuses on one room, it does show the dangers of mind controlled Pokemon in a very serious light. I hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas!**

Chapter 64: Inside Altru Tower: Part 5

The room itself was only decorated with several conveyor belts, tables and chairs, as well as what looked like various parts of what would go inside of a Miniremo. Figuring that there had to be some puzzle to this room, Luana and I began looking around, only to find nothing at all.

"Hmm, there has to be some trick to this room. Maybe we have to hit a switch or something just like how most of the floors were." Luana said.

"That could be possible, let's do some more searching." I said as we all continued to look around.

Even after we looked around the room more diligently, we still weren't able to find anything of importance in the room. Luana and I were checking around the back of the room when we heard the door we entered from opening and closing. The two of us turned around and were mere feet away from a pair of male grunts.

"You know…we were going to come in here on our break where it's nice and quiet…" A grunt said.

"True, but we found two Rangers instead! C'mon, let's get them!" The other grunt said as they took out Miniremos and began typing.

A minute or so ended up passing by as we waited around for the Pokémon to start attacking us, Luana and I looked around the room and even above us, hoping to spot a mind-controlled Pokémon somewhere…though we eventually didn't see anything at all. I initially thought that their Miniremos malfunctioned and I was preparing to get out of the room with Luana, only for a web to ensnare my arm, shocking me. Looking up once more, I saw an Ariados's mandibles poking out from a hole in the ceiling before it crashed through and landed in front of us.

"Didn't expect that, did you?" The first grunt asked as Luana, our Partner Pokémon and Eevee tried to remove the string from my arm.

"Heh, it's no use, Ariados are known for their strong and resilient silk. Good luck getting out of that! We'll have a little bit of fun with you two before we go on our break. Ariados, tie these two Rangers up! Len, take that girl down!" The second grunt said.

"That's not happening, Buneary, slam into that grunt!" Luana said as Buneary hopped up and hit Len square in his chest, knocking him to the ground.

"Good work Buneary! Now Eevee, try gnawing this string off!" I said as Eevee used Bite to gnaw the silk clean off of my arm.

"Unbelievable! Ariados, use Poison Jab on those two!" The grunt said as Len tried getting up, only for Buneary to knock him back down on the ground.

"Pachirisu, paralyze that Ariados!" Luana said as Pachirisu used Thunder Wave on the Ariados.

Now that I was free from my restraint, I made loops around the Ariados, which very quickly shrugged off the paralysis as it started to secrete poison from its mouth. The grunt then quickly typed in his Miniremo and Ariados fired a Poison Jab at Buneary, who was around twenty feet away watching over the other grunt.

"Buneary! Look out!" I said.

Buneary hopped out of the way just in time and was less than an inch away from being hurt with the Poison Jab. The strong move landed only a few inches near Len, who freaked out and staggered back to the other grunts side as the floor by him melted. Buneary then came back over to our side as I continued to make loops around the Pokémon, with Luana having Pachirisu paralyze the Ariados every so often as its Friendship Meter increased gradually. After a troubling start, I was able to capture the Ariados thanks to Luana and our Pokémon. The Miniremos both went up in smoke and flames, with the fire sprinklers extinguishing them as the grunts both seethed with rage.

"Well…we lost...looks like we'll have to let our admin buddy know!" Len said as the two of them tried to make a break for it.

"Pachirisu, paralyze those two!" I said as Pachirisu released electricity, making both grunts freeze in place.

Luana and I then took the two grunts over to a cluster of nearby chairs as Luana quickly got some wires that were used in the Miniremos. The two of us then tied the grunts together and proceeded to cover their mouths up with rope made in a makeshift muzzle. Even though we successfully beat the grunts, we knew that we couldn't find the mechanism to deactivate one of the lights where the admin was, which really bothered us considering that there definitely isn't any other way forward.

"Hmm, Kellyn, how about we persuade these two to tell us what they know?" Luana asked.

"I like how that sounds, hopefully they'll give us useful information. Don't even think of yelling." I said as I removed Len's muzzle.

At first, it appeared as if Len was going to scream for help, but one look from both of us made him rethink about doing so.

"Fine, I'll tell you two the secret to opening that door the admin is guarding…you guys need to simply find a secret switch located somewhere in each of the rooms." Len said.

"I don't believe that at all, let's ask this other one." Luana said as I retied Len's muzzle back up.

Luana went ahead and took the other grunt's muzzle off, though he made no attempt to fake us out with a scream.

"Well now, your friend wasn't able to provide us with much information. Hopefully you'll be able to help us out, right?" I asked as the grunt nodded.

"I'll…I'll help. From what I know, beating the grunts in the rooms is the key to activating the switches. So if you manage to beat all the grunts here, then you'll be able to continue onwards. That's all I know." The grunt said.

"Now that sounds believable to me, thanks." Luana said as she put the muzzle back on as the two grunts.

"Great, now that we know what to do, let's continue into the next room and proceed from there." I said as we headed for the door.

"Do you think those two would try escaping and telling the admin we're here?" Luana asked as I glanced back at the two grunts, who were looking down at their shoes.

"I think that they would. However, there's no closets or anything to really put them out of sight. Besides, you already know what would happen if we had to face a whole bunch of grunts anyway, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, we'd win against them, even if we have troubles at first." Luana said.

"That's because we can do anything!" We said as we headed out of the room.

Luana and I walked quietly and carefully through the large room before heading into the door on our left, which we quickly entered. This room was another step in producing the Miniremo units, as there were several conveyor belts running through the room and out through a hole on the right hand side, bringing the unfinished machines into a different area, presumably into another room where workers would assemble them or possibly modify them in some way. The conveyor belts themselves were built into the floor, which was a good thing as it provided us just enough room to cover ourselves, while still being able to see what's going on. Around twenty feet away at the back of the room was a steel counter which had three grunts dressed in cargo shorts instead of the typical long gray and black pants they usually wear. While we understood that defeating the grunts was the key to advancing, Luana and I were still cautious, especially since the grunt could have easily been lying. The two of us and our Pokémon all hid behind the conveyor belts, doing our best not to make a sound given how quiet the entire operation was running.

"Alright, Richard, Nathan, did you two conduct those tests on that Eevee like Leilani asked?" The grunt asked as the other two looked at each other.

"Huh? That's not our job, we had Franklin and Jon do it!" One of the grunts said.

"Really Richard? You know that Leilani gave you two orders to examine that shiny Eevee and see how we could help our boss make serious money! Besides, considering that Eevee's a female, we could just breed it with a whole bunch of Ditto and help our boss out quicker!" The grunt said as Eevee shivered, though I helped calm her down by petting her.

"Alfred, that's the worst idea ever…if the boss makes money off of our work and we get none of it, why would we do it?" Nathan asked.

"Because the man would kill us if we don't…he's creepy." Alfred said.  
"You're telling me…he's always mumbling to himself. You know, that reminds me, did you hear back from Chris yet? He was told by Leilani that he had to guard that weird metal gate, right?" Richard asked.

"Yeah that's right, unfortunately I didn't get a chance to talk to him yet, I should check up on him." Alfred said as we heard some mild static coming from the radio attached to his belt.

"Hey guys, how's it going in that Miniremo processing section?" A man asked as Alfred picked up the radio.

"Well look who it is, hey Chris, nothing much is happening, it's so quiet here. What's going on with you?" Alfred asked as Nathan took the radio.  
"Dude, bring us some snacks, I'm hungry!" Nathan said as Alfred took the radio back.

"We'll eat later, don't worry. Besides, if Leilani sees us eating without her permission, she'll claw us worse than a Purugly!" Alfred said.

"Ugh, you're right you know, Leilani really is terrible, we could have worked for Ice instead, he's much nicer." Richard said.

_'__If only you knew how awful Ice really is, you'd think Leilani is the best boss ever.' _I thought to myself as the three men began examining some of the Miniremos as if they were toys

"Hah, the other day she yelled at me for falling asleep on my break. With how they've been working us lately, can you blame me?" Chris asked.

"No way, with the boss wanting us to make these Miniremos and do so much more other things on top of that, it doesn't make things easy." Nathan said.

"Yeah, I hear you…so, back to what I was saying earlier, the reason I got on the radio to talk to you guys is because something weird is going on with the gate and Leilani has new duties for you guys." Chris said.

"Really? What's up with the gate?" Richard asked.

"Well it's…wait, don't you want to hear about Leilani's new job she wants you guys to do?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, we do but we're more curious about that gate then dealing with her attitude." Alfred said.

"Good point, the issue with the gate is that one of the red switches on it turned blue…I'm not even sure why but it worries me." Chris said.

"Maybe it's just a system glitch? You know the Sinis Trio has been directing all of their attention to helping the boss now." Nathan said.

"Could just be me acting all paranoid…anyway, Leilani wants you three in charge of the Miniremo production, obviously it'll come with extra pay and stuff." Chris said as the men groaned.

"More pay is nice and all, but there are so many of these things to look at and check." Richard said as he and Nathan examined some more Miniremos.

_'__We have to pick the right time to attack. Once they get off the radio, we'll ambush the three of them. If Chris is alerted about our presence, then we'll be swarmed by grunts or worse, the other two Sinis Trio members…maybe even Kincaid.' _I thought to myself.

"Yeah, I know, I know. Well, just make sure to do a good job like you guys always do and maybe Leilani would be nicer." Chris said.

"Heh, yeah right…anyhow, thanks Chris, we'll be seeing you in about an hour." Alfred said.

"Alright, you know where to find me." Chris said as Alfred turned his radio off.

"Ugh, time to start checking these things, may as well get going guys." Richard said.

"Time to put on my headphones then." Nathan said as he put on some black headphones.

"Alright, we'll just poke you if we need anything. Let's check the ones over here Richard, there aren't too many Miniremos." Alfred said as he and Richard headed off to the side about thirty feet from Nathan, while Richard also put his headphones on after a few moments.

Now that the three grunts had their backs turned to us or were otherwise preoccupied with their work, Luana and I knew it was our chance to attack.

"Eevee, Buneary and Pachirisu, go for Alfred and Richard. Pachirisu, you'll go first and swipe Alfred's radio from him and run with it. Eevee and Buneary, once Pachirisu runs away, you two will go after him in case either of them try harming Pachirisu. Luana and I will go for Nathan since he'll be alone and you three will come back after we're done. Sound good?" I quietly asked as everyone nodded.

"Good thinking Kellyn. Let's put that plan into action." Luana said.

Pachirisu went first and scurried towards Alfred and Richard, with Alfred turning upon noticing the Pokémon. Alfred excitedly nudged Richard, who took his headphones off.

"Woah, look, a Pachirisu! I've always wanted one…aren't they adorable?" Alfred asked.

"Pachirisu are pretty cute, I haven't seen any of them in the tower, but then again, the boss probably has most Pokémon stored away or something…who knows what he does with them." Richard said as Pachirisu bounded up and took Alfred's radio.

"H-hey! What're you doing little guy?!" Alfred asked as Pachirisu ran through the room.

"Well there goes your radio…" Richard said.

"Argh! My favorite Pokémon just stole from me, c'mon let's get my radio back! After that, I'll try capturing that Pachirisu!" Alfred said as he and Richard ran after my Partner Pokémon, with Eevee and Buneary right behind them.

Nathan on the other hand, was completely unaware of what just occurred, in fact, he was so busy with his work that he had no idea Luana and I were approaching him closer. Luana and I pounced on the grunt and I quickly covered his mouth while Luana held him in place. Once that was done, I looked around for something to tie him up with and took some of the loose cables that haven't been used for the Miniremos yet. Thankfully, there were enough cables to cover his mouth and tie his arms as well. Now that Nathan was all tied up and muzzled, we put him on a chair and hid back in our original spots while he struggled with his bonds.

"Alright, now we just wait for our Pokémon to come back, then we'll get the other two." I whispered.

"That's right, we just have to wait." Luana said as we kept our eyes on Nathan, who looked around the room for Alfred and Richard.

A few seconds later, Nathan then tried to escape by trying to slide out of his restraints, which were unsuccessful. A couple of minutes had passed and I heard the quick pitter patter of Pachirisu's running followed by the two grunts.  
"Woah Nathan, what happened? Did one of the Miniremos attack you?" Richard asked as Nathan incoherently spoke.

"Never mind Nathan, let's get that Pachirisu, we're not giving such a cool Pokémon to the boss!" Alfred said as he chased after Pachirisu, who had started running along the conveyor belts.

Alfred ran after Pachirisu, while Richard was deciding if he should untie Nathan or simply follow after Alfred. It didn't take Richard long to think of what to do, so he ran behind Alfred while Nathan remained stuck there. However, Eevee and Buneary were right behind them and quickly jumped on Alfred and Richard while Nathan watched in horror.

"Argh, w-what's going on?!" Richard asked as we used the remainder of the cables to tie Richard up.

Luana and I were about to focus on Alfred, who had Eevee on the back of his head, however, Alfred managed to shake Eevee off. Once Alfred regained his bearings and tried to continuously get Eevee away from him, he then hurriedly went to look for help and saw Nathan, who was still in his restraints as we saw him rush over to Nathan.

"Alright Luana, we have to be cautious…even more so than before now that Eevee is off of Alfred!" I said to Luana as we got ready.

"Don't you worry, let's take them down right now!" Luana said as we rushed Alfred.

Richard on the other hand was still struggling with Buneary and eventually tossed her off of him, though Buneary knocked Richard off his feet and sent him crashing to the ground. With me restraining Alfred, Luana immediately went over to Richard and did the same. At this point, all three men were restrained and fidgeting in their bonds, though a short while later, Alfred broke free from his makeshift muzzle.

"H-hey, Rangers, how'd you sneak up on us like that? That was a sneaky trap you two and your Pokémon pulled!" Alfred said as Richard and Nathan nodded.

"We had to be as discreet as possible, but since the three of you are all tied up, we'll be heading on our way." Luana said.

"W-wait…you two need to proceed onwards, right?" Alfred asked.

"Well…yes, we do." I said.

"Perfect! You'll just need to beat one of us…problem is, we're all tied up so…I'm not sure how you're going to manage that." Alfred said as a device fell out of his pocket and flipped open.

The device in question looked identical to a Miniremo in design, aside from being the size of a Diglett. To make matters worse, the machine malfunctioned and fizzled before going to a pitch black screen.

"That was a pocket version of a Miniremo…wasn't it?" I asked.

"It was…they're not durable as you guys just saw. I don't know if it'll even summon a Pokémon or not." Alfred said.

The wall behind the trio of men soon had a massive hole in it, which exposed the afternoon sky, thanks to a Flygon. The Pokémon then flew into the room and sent a powerful Sonicboom at the nearby conveyor belts, destroying them and the floor beneath the machinery as the three grunts tried hopping away.

"Buneary, use Charm on that Flygon!" Luana said as Buneary did a little dance, which managed to captivate the Flygon.

"Alright, that's what we need, let's go!" I said as I made a halfway loop around the Flygon, who was preoccupied with Buneary.

Luana charged the Capture Line to the second stage and I completed loops around Flygon. I made quick loops as best as I could, not knowing how long the Flygon would remain distracted with Buneary. Before I knew it, the Friendship Meter was filled around sixty percent before the Flygon's infatuation with Buneary wore off. Flygon retaliated with a fierce Dragonbreath, which melted some parts of the room, as well as the machinery and Miniremos, causing small fires in a few areas. Just like in some of the other rooms, the fire sprinklers came on and extinguished the fires occurring, the three grunts were now huddled in the corner by a bunch of wrecked Miniremos, with the Flygon getting dangerously closer to the men as they huddled closer.

"Hey Flygon, over here!" I shouted as the Flygon turned around, its eyes glaring at me in a furious rage.

"H-h-huh?" Alfred said as I ran away from Luana and the Pokémon to distance myself from anyone else getting hurt.

Flygon turned its attention to me and flew right at me, hovering in the air for a few seconds while staring at me before its claws glowed a dark purple. Flygon then dove at me as I got out of the way, with the Pokémon's move making a powerful impact against the floor as it gained a massive dent. Luana sprinted in my direction, followed by Eevee, Pachirisu and Buneary and the three Pokémon headbutted the Flygon in retaliation into the floor, making an even larger hole near the area where it almost hit me.

Flygon was stunned from the combined attack and struggled to move its wings, giving me an opportunity to continue making loops around the Flygon as it attempted to move. I was glad that I made such good progress on the Flygon's Friendship Meter by bringing it up to eighty percent, thanks to the assistance of Luana and our Pokémon, though I was annoyed that my plan was the cause of the Flygon's rampage.

_'__If I didn't tie up those grunts with Luana, then Alfred's Miniremo wouldn't have fallen out…well, that's not a problem, I'll do what I can to prevent this Flygon from going further out of control.' _I thought to myself as Flygon stretched its wings and began to fly once more.

"Kellyn, I'll take over from here!" Luana said as we swapped places.

"Alright! Pachirisu, we'll need your help, try hitting that Flygon with a Thunder Wave!" I said as Pachirisu unleashed an electric jolt on the Flygon, temporarily stunning it.

Luana then made loops around the Flygon, who was only prevented from moving for a brief moment thanks to its part Ground typing. However, Pachirisu and I were quick and continuously stunned the Flygon in order to stop it from launching any attacks. After doing this for a few minutes, Pachirisu got tired and went over with the other Pokémon, who were standing guard over the grunts. I watched my Styler as the Friendship Meter on the Flygon continued to go up, to the point where it reached ninety percent, though the Pokémon soon broke free of paralysis and began to flap its wings, causing winds to kick up in an attempt to knock us back. The Flygon realized that it was far too weak to do so, and resorted to using its moves, where its claw once again glowed a dark purple as it aimed for Luana. Even though I began running to get Luana out of the way, I saw a small white figure swiftly hit the Flygon, sending it flying towards a conveyor belt, which was destroyed upon impact. I knew right away the little figure was Eevee as she landed right by us.

"Wow…thank you Eevee, you're a fast one!" Luana said as I grinned and gave Eevee a thumbs up.

"Good work Eevee, we appreciate the help!" I said as Eevee smiled and went over to our Partner Pokémon.

The Flygon wasn't badly injured from the attacks it received and managed to stand up, but it was just damaged enough that Luana could do loops around it, filling up its Friendship Meter completely as she successfully captured the Pokémon. I heard the small Miniremo malfunction and saw the Flygon shaking its head clear, soon looking around in confusion. The Pokémon had no idea where it was and Luana and I approached it to heal its wounds.

"Hi there Flygon, you got really hurt just now. Do you remember what happened?" Luana asked as it shook its head.

_'__In a way, it's a good thing Flygon can't remember the battle, it would have fault awful if it knew what it had done.' _I thought to myself as I looked around at the Flygon's wounds, which were minor scratches compared to what I thought it would have initially received.

"Let's see…we have to heal this Flygon, but I'm sure there aren't any Pokémon with Heal Pulse around. Let me ask those grunts over there." I said as I headed over to the three men, with Alfred turning his head to look at me.

"Er…thanks for saving us from that Flygon back there…I thought it was going to kill us." Alfred said.

"You're welcome, but…we need something from one of you guys." I said as Alfred arched an eyebrow.

"From one of us? What is it?" Alfred asked as I motioned over to the Flygon.

"That Flygon got damaged quite a bit as a result of the battle our Pokémon had with it. Do you guys have any Oran or Sitrus berries you could give us?" I asked.

"Yeah, Nathan and Richard have a couple of Sitrus berries in their pockets." Alfred said as Nathan shook his head and mumbled something, which prompted me to pull down his muzzle.

"No way Alfred, those berries are my snack for later!" Nathan said as Richard nodded vigorously.

"Guys, that Pokémon is injured, we don't have time for this. Can you two please let me get some berries?" I asked as both men sighed, while Alfred grinned.

"You heard the Ranger! Besides, I told you two we'd get snacks later…here, let me get those berries." Alfred said as our Pokémon watched him closely.

I loosened up his restraints just enough for one of Alfred's arms to be released so he can get the berries. Alfred got some Sitrus berries from Nathan's hat, while he hopped over a little bit and leaned over to retrieve a Sitrus berry from Richard's pocket located at his knee before handing me five berries.

"Is that enough?" Alfred asked.

"Yup, that's plenty, thanks!" I said as I headed over to the Flygon, Luana and our Pokémon, with Richard and Nathan groaning.


	65. Chapter 65: Inside Altru Tower: Part 6

Chapter 65: Inside Altru Tower: Part 6

**A/N: Happy New Year's to everyone! I hope you all have a fantastic 2020 and I hope that this year is better than the last for everyone!**

"Nice, you got a lot of berries! This should be enough to help Flygon get better!" Luana said as we handed the Flygon the berries.

The Flygon instantly got better once it consumed all five berries and nuzzled both of us before it turned to the gaping hole in the wall and took off, good as new. With the Flygon all better, we then headed back towards the three grunts where our Pokémon rejoined us.

"There, the Flygon's gone now, thanks for the help guys." I said.

"So I take it you guys aren't going to release us, right?" Alfred asked as Nathan rolled his eyes.

"Well Alfred, we are the bad guys." Nathan said as Richard began to mumble, so I took his muzzle off so he could speak.

"Thanks…that's true, Team Dim Sun isn't exactly a great organization. Since you two are heading up the tower, that means you have to get past Chris since he's guarding the staircase." Richard said.

"Yeah, considering that he's an admin, I can only imagine what Pokémon he'll be throwing at us." Luana said.

"It'll be tough, but we can do it. We'll be going to the next rooms, but if there's any snacks in either of them then we'll bring some back for you guys." I said as we began to leave.

"Wait! There's something I have to tell you two!" Alfred said as we both turned back around and headed back to the trio.

"Hmmm, alright, what do you have to tell us? It's not a trick, is it?" I asked as Richard and Nathan shook their heads.

"It's not…seriously, Leilani planted some traps inside two of the rooms. They're rigged to blow up the second you guys step inside." Richard said.

"We…we were actually given orders to try stopping you guys…in the event that we failed, we were told by Leilani to stop at nothing to bring both of you to one of those rooms." Nathan said.

"Is…i-is that so?" I asked as Alfred nodded.

"Unfortunately it is. To make matters worse, Leilani even gave us a detonator to use once the both of you stepped foot into either room. That little device we had was basically a Miniremo device and a camera system monitor in one. The other two switches you guys may have seen on the gate Chris is guarding are just there to throw you two off. The two rooms themselves are completely empty aside from a box containing the explosives." Alfred said.

"I don't know…I'm wondering if what you guys are saying is just a way to lower our guards. Can you show use the detonator and have it go off?" Luana asked as three grunts looked at one another.

"Fair enough…but if we're not lying to you guys, then you have to explain to the Ranger Union that we helped you two out! Does that sound like a deal?" Alfred asked.

"It's a deal." I said as Alfred and I shook hands.

Alfred took out the detonator, which was a simple rectangular device with a bright blue button. At first, it looked like a toy, but when Alfred pressed the button, we heard a couple of loud booms, which shook the entire building as I tripped and fell on some debris. After a few more seconds of rumbling, everything lay still. Luana quickly helped me to my feet as I looked over at the trio of men in shock.

"Sorry about that, but I do think it was a good choice for Alfred to show you we weren't kidding around." Richard said.

"Well…I agree completely, that certainly was quite a surprise for the two of us. Most of the grunts and admins we've encountered have been unusually violent or try to trick us in some way." Luana said.

"I have an answer for that." Nathan said.

"You do? Go on, tell us." I said.

"It's not a good answer but…the Shadow Crystal is influencing some of the Team Dim Sun members. It's pretty much just like mind control on Pokémon when Miniremos are used, but the Shadow Crystal is so strong that whether a person or a Pokémon has malicious intent or not, it doesn't matter, they can be mind controlled too." Nathan said as my heart began to race.

"How…how did you find out this information?" I asked.  
"A few days ago, Nathan and I heard some of the researchers talking when they were finishing up some final touches on the Shadow Crystal's containment on the top floor. They don't plan on just controlling all Pokémon if they're not stopped…but the people as well. I don't know how the Shadow Crystal chooses who to manipulate, but I do know it can warp their minds, if only for a short time." Richard said.

"Wow…we…we have to hurry. But first, let's get you three to the Ranger Union, you guys helped us and we'll help you now." I said as I prepared to call Marcus, though he ended up calling first.

"Kellyn, Luana?! What's happening in that tower? Part of the fortieth first floor just exploded! Are you guys okay?" Marcus asked.

"Hi Marcus, we're okay! We're concerned about everyone at the Ranger Union, how's everyone holding up?" I asked.

"We took a beating, but nothing too severe. Wendy, Sven and Keith in particular are doing a great job at protecting the Union." Marcus said.

"Good, glad to know that everyone's safe and sound. We needed some help from you if that's possible." I said.

"Sure, what do you need? More grunts to haul away?" Marcus asked.

"Yes and no…they are grunts…but they actually warned us about a few of the rooms being rigged and detonated it before we could enter. The three of them saved us." I said.

"Wow, that's just mind boggling. Don't worry, I'll have a Staraptor pick the grunts up." Marcus said.

"Thanks Marcus, we appreciate it." I said.

"No problem, good luck guys!" Marcus said as he hanged up.

"Woo! Thanks man, now we'll finally be out of here!" Nathan said.

"Yeah, hope you two manage to beat Leilani." Alfred said as we heard the flapping of wings.

"We will, we've got each other! Thanks for the help you guys." Luana said as we untied the restraints on the trio's legs while keeping their wrists tied.

The three grunts hesitantly looked at one another as the three Staraptor landed on the ground with cages attached to their backs. However, they looked very relieved and Richard hopped into one of the cages followed by Nathan. Alfred was about to hop inside until I stopped him.

"Aren't you forgetting about someone? Perhaps one of your buddies?" I asked.

"Oh! I nearly forgot about Chris, you can take my radio and let me talk to him." Alfred said as I took his radio and held it close to him.

_'__Heh, it's kind of ironic…everyone thinks of every Team Dim Sun member being bad, yet Luana and I are assisting three of their members. If a regular citizen was around and didn't get any context, then I can only imagine that they'd be so confused.' _I thought to myself.

"Hey Chris, you still awake?" Alfred asked.

"Yeah man, I'm here, what's up?" Chris asked.

"A couple of Rangers are helping us get free from that pink haired tyrant. We're about to leave on some Staraptors, let's go!" Alfred said.

"Really?! Finally! I hate this job, I'm on my way." Chris said.

A few seconds later, Chris, the same admin we tried to avoid before, burst through the door and ran up to his three friends.

"Oh, these are the Rangers who're helping you guys out? Cool, thank you so much!" Chris said as he grinned and hopped on the Staraptor occupied by Nathan.

"Haha, not a problem. Let them know you guys don't mean any harm, get going before Leilani comes back." I said.

"Good idea, go and stop Leilani and anyone else in your way! Then you guys go after President Hall and show him who's boss!" Alfred said as the four men took off.

"Great work everyone! Since that's settled, it's time to head to the next floor and see what awaits us there!" I said as we exited the room.

Just as described, the gate with the four indicator lights had turned blue and subsequently retracted into the floor.

"Awesome, let's go up to the forty second floor! Maybe Leilani will be waiting there." Luana said as we approached where the gate was.

"Yeah, if so, we're in for a tough fight, but it's nothing we can't handle." I said as we reached where the door was.

Luana opened the door and we ran up the staircase. Once we were on the forty second floor, we very carefully observed around us to make sure there weren't any traps in place. The room itself was very simple and was in a layout with an upside down U and gigantic wires running throughout it. From what I could see, the layout of the room was very basic and at the end of the room was an electrified fence. Going around the bend with our Pokémon in tow, we saw a Gallade by the window, which turned to face us as we looked at its eyes, which were gray and filled with agony and suffering. The Gallade charged at us and then stopped a few feet away, eyeing us closely before it released a Wide Slash, sending a wave of curved white projectiles at us, which we barely managed to avoid.

"Alright, Pachirisu, use Thunder Wave that Gallade!" Luana said as Pachirisu discharged electricity on the fast moving Pokémon, stopping it in its tracks.

I went ahead and helped Luana out by quickly making loops around the Gallade while she prepared for when Gallade would break free from paralysis. Soon enough, the Gallade managed to get moving again, though Luana and Pachirisu were at the ready to paralyze it while I focused on making loops around the Pokémon. The Friendship Meter began to rise from ten percent when we initially started and had increased all the way to sixty percent as the Gallade continuously kept getting hit with Thunder Wave. Eventually though, Pachirisu got tired and took a breather and I had Buneary come over to me so I could use her Poké Assist to make capturing Gallade faster.

"Buneary, we'll need your help here!" I said as Buneary did a quick dance and boosted my Capture Styler's strength.

Now that my Capture Styler could increase the Friendship Meter a little quicker, I knew that I had no time to waste as I made loops around the Gallade. It took quite a number of loops but surprisingly, the Gallade remained paralyzed throughout the entire ordeal and was soon successfully captured. The Gallade's eyes reverted back to red as it swiftly walked over to us in order to lend a helping hand.

Now that we had another Pokémon to assist us, we continued around the bend where we saw the same electrical fence, which was now to our right. In the center of the room and to our left was a bright pink door leading into a rectangular room. Luana and I nodded at each other and headed inside the room, prepared to do battle with Leilani. There were wires connected to the orb, sending a surge of electricity with a dazzling pink color. However…in the center of the small room was Leilani with her back turned to us. I was terrified just thinking of what she had in store for us…a part of me didn't even want to imagine what she was contemplating or considering in such a tense atmosphere. As if on cue, Leilani turned around…with anger, hatred and rage very obviously plastered on her face…seeing someone so enraged was terrifying to me.

_'__I'd be terrified if I had to face Leilani by myself. I'm glad I have Luana here with me, she looks ready to kill all of us at any moment.' _I thought to myself as Leilani smirked and took a few steps forward.

"Finally…I'm ready to settle this once and for all. You two aren't getting out of here alive, especially because of how angry you're making Blake Hall. Now then, how about we dance?" Leilani asked as she took out a Miniremo and began typing.

Leilani smirked as she glared at Luana before stepping back a few steps as she began chuckling. We saw the wall to our left turn into liquified steel as an Infernape walked through the newly formed hole.

"Pachirisu, Thunder Wave!" I said as Pachirisu paralyzed the Pokémon.

I waited for Luana to charge up the Styler to its second phase and then began to make loops around the Infernape as I made quick circles. I prepared to have Pachirisu stun the Pokémon again, only for the tower to begin shaking as we tried to avoid getting hurt in such a small room. Despite the rumbling, Pachirisu managed to stun the Infernape as it was about to break free from paralysis while I made loops around the Pokémon…however, what I heard next made Luana and I very terrified.

"The Shadow Crystal's strength level has increased to level two! System update has been finished!" A robotic voice said as the slight rumbling stopped.  
"Looks like you two dolts are running out of time…such a shame, you've both been an absolute pain all the way and gave it your all." Leilani said as she cackled like a madwoman.

"We're not going to lose against you!" Luana said as she took over for me.

"That may be…but who's to say if the system the Shadow Crystal is hooked up to doesn't reach full power by the time you two reach the top? Heh, if anything, your little Pokémon there would just end up killing both of you so in the end, our boss wins anyway." Leilani said as I had Pachirisu shock Infernape.

"You say that, but our Pokémon care about us, even if the machine reaches full power, we'll stop Blake Hall before anyone gets hurt!" I said.

"So foolish…how pitiful. It's okay though, once Pachirisu runs out of energy, I'll just have Infernape cook the two of you." Leilani said.

Ignoring Leilani as best as we could, Luana continued to make loops around the Infernape, which was still paralyzed. At this point, the Friendship Meter was at twenty percent and we had to move fast but carefully when considering the danger Leilani poses to us. I continued to assist Luana with stunning the Infernape as she made loops around the Pokemon, though after a few minutes, Pachirisu eventually got tired and went off to the side while Luana continued to make several loops, easily reaching at least three dozens. Figuring that we had to speed this up before the system on the top floor reaches full power, I decided to get assistance from Eevee and Buneary.

"Buneary, Eevee, I need your help! One of you use Charm on Leilani while the other waits for the Infernape to break free from paralysis!" I said as Eevee ran over to Leilani.

"Gah! What's this little furball doing here? Move out of the way before I kick your face in!" Leilani said as Eevee nuzzled up to her leg and tapped Leilani's leg.

"Kellyn, do…do you think Charm would work on Leilani of all people?" Luana asked as Buneary got into position.

"I…I don't know, but we're about to find out." I said as Leilani's expression softened.

"Aw…what an adorable Pokémon! Come here you fluffy little thing!" Leilani said as she pet Eevee.

"Awesome, it…it worked! Alright Luana, I'll help you out and take over!" I said as Luana and I swapped places.

Right on cue, the Infernape broke free from paralysis, looking angrier than ever as it prepared a Flamethrower. Infernape launched an intense amount of fire at my Capture Line instead of directly at us, which we thought was odd as every Pokémon has always focused on attacking us. Leilani was still distracted with Eevee as she continuously pet the small Pokémon while Infernape relentlessly came after us. Infernape then launched a fireball near Luana, which sent a small pillar of fire up in the air as I quickly moved her away.

"Are you alright?" I asked as Luana nodded.

"Yup, all good Kellyn! However, this Infernape needs to be captured soon, it looks like it's going through more pain with every attack." Luana said as Leilani managed to snap back to her senses.

"H-huh? What am I doing holding this runt…? Ah! You tried to captivate me…very sneaky…" Leilani said as she tried to throw Eevee, who managed to wrestle away and knock Infernape on the ground in the process.

"Perfect, Buneary, once Infernape gets up, knock it back down with Jump Kick!" I said as Buneary eyed Infernape from a safe distance.

"No you don't! Infernape, use Blaze Kick on that annoying Ranger!" Leilani said as Infernape hopped up.

"Buneary, Jump Kick!" I said as Buneary launched herself at Infernape, knocking it to the ground as it took a direct hit before it could even start forming Blaze Kick.

Using the extra chance to speed up the Infernape's capture, I had Luana charge up the Styler to its second stage as I made loops once again around the Pokémon. The Friendship Meter continued to increase, mainly thanks to Luana's amazing efforts from earlier as it was already at an impressive fifty five percent. The Infernape certainly looked like it was still raring to go and it certainly proved itself by launching several small fireballs around itself, causing pillars of fire to shoot up into the air as Luana hurriedly moved me away from the intense heat.

"You see? Infernape is too strong for the likes of you." Leilani said with a smirk.

"Eevee, use Tackle on that Infernape!" I said as Eevee dashed forward and knocked Infernape off its feet.

Leilani's expression changed to one that was a mixture of fury and shock, as she simply couldn't believe that a little Eevee could hit an Infernape so hard. I made sure to be quick when making loops around the Infernape given how fast it's been the entire time. Infernape hopped onto its feet and prepared to get close to Eevee with Close Combat, though she managed to bite on Infernape's arm, cancelling the attack.

"Annoying little Eevee, knock it off!" Leilani shouted as I took advantage of Eevee's assistance, making loops around the Infernape, which was trying to shake Eevee off.

"Eevee, keep up the good work, make sure that Infernape's unable to attack!" Luana said.

Eevee didn't relent on using Bite on Infernape, who was still trying to desperately get rid of Eevee. At this point, Pachirisu regained his energy and sprinted over to us quickly.

"Alright Eevee, quick, hop off of Infernape! Pachirisu, paralyze that Pokémon!" I said as Eevee released her grip on Infernape as Pachirisu shocked the Infernape.

I continued to make loops around the Infernape while making sure to keep on eye on Leilani, who was seething with rage. The Friendship Meter slowly increased to seventy percent, though it was too early to celebrate as Infernape broke free of paralysis and launched a Blaze Kick directly at Eevee.

"Woah, Eevee, look out!" I said as Eevee jumped out of the way to avoid the attack, which managed to melt part of the floor.

"Heh, how do you like that? Infernape, you better keep at it with the attacks." Leilani said as she continued typing in commands.

Infernape then became stationary as I cautiously made loops around it. Observing it closely, I realized that it was charging up a powerful move, even more stronger than Close Combat. In less than three seconds, Infernape let out a roar and looked at the Capture Line before releasing a Focus Punch. I couldn't react quick enough to have Pachirisu attack Infernape and the Styler had taken ten damage from the Pokémon's powerful attack, breaking the Capture Line I had done around the Infernape as Leilani chuckled.

"What an idiot, I already told you two that winning against me isn't likely." Leilani said as I grimaced.

"Pachirisu, hit that Infernape with a Thunderbolt!" I said as Pachirisu released a surge of electricity, knocking the Infernape backwards.

"Buneary, use Jump Kick!" Luana said as Buneary sprang up and hit the Infernape, causing it to go farther than before as it snarled.

"So that's how you two want to play…alright then, that's fine by me." Leilani said as she typed in another command.

"Pachirisu, use Thunder Wave on Infernape!" Luana said as Pachirisu stunned the raging Pokémon.

_'__Good thinking Luana, Infernape was going out of control thanks to Leilani. Doing what we can to stop it is the best course of action.' _I thought to myself as Leilani pounded on the Miniremo in a rage.

I continued to make loops around the Pokémon and was surprised to see how quickly its Friendship Meter was rising compared to earlier. In fact, the Friendship Meter was almost full in just a few minutes. After making a few more loops around the still stunned Infernape, it was eventually captured after a tough battle. The Infernape broke free from its mind control and paralysis and looked around the room in confusion as it wondered where it was. The Pokémon, still unsure of what to make of the situation, walked out of the room as Leilani gritted her teeth in anger while the Miniremo began to emit sparks. Gallade, which initially stayed back during the fight, mainly because it seemed rather disinterested in fighting Infernape, stepped in front of us as a barrier of sorts between Leilani, Luana and I.

"I can't believe you fools beat me. I thought that attempting to lower your guards in the research facility would lull you into a false sense of security. I wanted to bring your bodies to the boss…he would have been so proud of me. Blake would have even made me his wife." Leilani said.

Luana and I were speechless and were completely unsure of how to react from Leilani's statement. However, I knew that we had to get someone to bring her in before she escaped and tried anything in the future.

"Pachirisu, use Thunder Wave on Leilani!" I said as Pachirisu emitted an electrical jolt, stunning Leilani and rendering her unable to move.

"Y-you two…y-you two…won't succeed…" Leilani said as Luana got out her Styler.

"You can say that all you want, you've lost in the end, Leilani!" I said as I heard Marcus on the other end.

"Hi guys, need a Ranger to come and round someone up?" Marcus asked.

"Hi there, we've got the second member of the Sinis Trio here. I hope that whoever's coming to take her uses utmost caution at all times, as she's almost killed us several times." Luana said.

"Will do, I'll send a guy to pick her up right now. Keep up the good fight!" Marcus said as he hanged up, while Leilani glared at us.

"You know…the both of you are so…likeable and I just don't get it. I wanted the boss to love me, yet despite me attempting to kill you guys several times and even getting Dittos to help me masquerade as certain people in the Ranger Union every so often, it still didn't work." Leilani said.

_'__I'm not even surprised that Leilani is the one who's been doing that…but the fact that she's attempted to kill us all for love is a disturbing thought.' _I thought to myself as a male Ranger teleported to the side of Leilani with a Ralts.

"Hi there Top Rangers, great work! I'll make sure to cuff this lady and take her to Almia Prison." The Ranger said.

"Thank you, be very careful with her, she's a danger to everyone around her." I said as the Ranger observed the room around him.

"Yeah, I could tell that you three had a really tough battle. It's alright though, she won't hurt anyone else." The Ranger said as he cuffed Leilani's wrists and legs.

"You two…watch your backs, because one day, me or Mr. Kincaid will find the both of you and kill you. I hope you two continue living in fear." Leilani said.

"We're not going to live in fear because of you or anyone. You've lost, Leilani." I said.

"He's right, you're all tied up. We'll be going now, good work guys!" The Ranger said as he teleported away.

"Okay, that's two of the Trio down. Gallade, smash that orb into pieces!" Luana said.

Gallade raced forward and used Close Combat on the pink orb, turning it into small glass fragments. Once that was done, Gallade bounded out of the room, through the same opening initially created by the Infernape. With the orb deactivated and rendered useless, it was time for Luana and I to continue onwards. After checking our Pokémon and making sure that they weren't harmed in anyway, we headed out of the room, where the fence gates were now gone as they retracted into the metal posts, revealing what I happily realized was elevator doors.

"Alright, now let's go upstairs! I thought we'd have to keep climbing floors but instead of heading to the forty third floor, we'll just take the elevator!" I said as I pressed the elevator button.


	66. Chapter 66: Inside Altru Tower: Part 7

Chapter 66: Inside Altru Tower: Part 7

The doors opened quickly and we all entered the elevator, upon checking the buttons, I noticed that it went up to the fifty fifth floor. I went ahead and pressed it, with the elevator doors closing a few seconds later as we ascended upwards.

"Kellyn, I know we spoke with Marcus briefly and everything seemed fine at the Ranger Union, but…I'm wondering how Sven, Wendy, Keith and everyone else are doing." Luana said as Eevee and Pachirisu hopped up on my shoulders.

"I understand completely, it's really troublesome to even think of what they're going through right now while we're in this building. Let me give Sven or Wendy a call, hopefully they pick up and give us a thorough rundown of what's happening." I said as I called Sven, who answered after a few rings.

"Hi Kellyn and Luana! Do you guys need something?" Sven asked.

"Hi Sven, we wanted to make sure everyone was doing okay. We were on one of the floors where we battled Ice and saw the damage to the Ranger Union. Marcus told us that everything's okay for the most part, but he couldn't go into detail as he's pretty busy." I said.

"Not a problem Kellyn, thanks for taking the time to check up on us! We're fine, all of us managed to capture the Pokémon that were endangering the Ranger Union, we even rounded up all of the grunts and admins. What's the status report on the tower though?" Sven asked.

"Oh that's a relief, I knew you guys would be able to protect the Ranger Union without any trouble! Luana and I just finished with defeating Leilani and a Ranger took her away before she could escape or cause anymore harm to others. But…while we were battling Leilani, the tower's operating system announced that the Shadow Crystal's strength level is already at level two…I don't like the sound of that." I said.

"Wow, good work on getting that crazy woman captured! However…I can understand your concern, level two? Sounds like something bad is going on up there. You two do the best that you can, because you know that all of us will stick by your side the entire way." Sven said.

"Thanks Sven, we're actually on the elevator which will take us to the fifty fifth floor in no time!" I said.

"Great, when you two reach the fifty eight floor, let us know so that Wendy, Keith and I will get to the tower's top. I know you still have the Blue Gem, which is perfect, that's exactly what we need to make sure things run smoothly. Keith will be up in the air as backup while Wendy and I will circle around the Shadow Crystal. Be careful you two!" Sven said.

"We'll be fine, thanks Sven!" I said as I hanged up.

"Glad to know they're doing okay, we only have five more floors to go, let's do this!" Luana said.

"You bet! We already took down two of the Sinis Trio, so it'll only be a matter of time before we take down Heath, Kincaid and the big boss himself!" I said as the elevator reached the fifty first floor and continued upwards, only for us to hear a loud thud as the elevator slowed to a stop.

"Is that sound what I think it is?" Luana asked as a grunt came bursting through the emergency exit.

"Hahah, you heard right! You two aren't heading to the fifty fifth floor and I'll make sure of it! It's a good thing I'm here to crash the party you two were having!" The grunt said as he took out a Miniremo.

After hearing a bit more rumbling, we saw a group of Bidoof making their way through the emergency exit and plopping down on the ground beside us. While there were about ten of them, which certainly did make the small elevator feel cramped, it also was rather surprising that this grunt decided to take us on with some tame Bidoof.  
"You're…you're taking us on with Bidoof?" I asked.

"Er…that probably wasn't the smartest choice for me to use, was it?" The grunt asked.

I made a full loop around the cluster of Bidoof and captured all of them in one go as they hopped into the air and left through the emergency exit.

"No, it certainly wasn't." I said as the grunt panicked and scrambled through the emergency exit.

"I still can't believe he thought taking us on with Bidoof was a good idea." Luana said as the elevator began to move upwards once more.

"Yeah, you're telling me, I don't know what that grunt was thinking. Now that that's over with, we'll hopefully continue without any other interruptions." I said.

A few minutes after that, the elevator reached the fifty fifth floor and the doors opened, with Luana and I stepping out and viewing the long stretch of a hallway. There weren't any doors on either wall, which caught both of us off guard as we weren't expecting this floor to be so plain. Luana and I walked down the long hallway, finally reaching the end of it after five minutes of walking and coming to a solid steel door.

"Kellyn, what do you think is through this door?" Luana asked.

"I…I don't know, I've got a bad feeling about this, but we've come a long way, so we can't stop now." I said as I opened the door.

I felt a cold chill up my spine as I entered the room, which was pristine and clean with white tiles, while the walls were a dull gray. Inside the room were two giant capsules containing a Glaceon and an Espeon, both of which were lying down inside of their holding area, which had a massive glass dome over the Pokémon. Nearby were a few metal tables and several surgical tools as well. Our Partner Pokémon, along with Eevee, subsequently came into the room and noticed the two Pokémon trapped in their prisons. As we stepped forward, Eevee rushed ahead of us and got on her hind legs, desperately pawing at the glass prison containing Espeon before going over to the one holding Glaceon. Luana and I raced up to Eevee and I pet her head gently, calming her down as our Partner Pokémon caught up to us.

"Okay…let's see… how about we have Buneary smash open those glass cages? We'll have the two Eeveelutions cover their heads as the glass gets shattered." Luana said.

"That's a good idea, we need to get these two out quickly! Espeon, Glaceon, we're going to get you two free right now, cover yourselves from the shards!" I said as both Pokémon shielded their faces.

"Okay Buneary, use Hi Jump Kick on that glass!" Luana said.

Buneary launched into the air and smashed the glass prison holding Espeon, before quickly going to Glaceon and destroying that one as well. Both Pokémon were soon freed and looked around at the shattered glass before hopping down and cuddling with Eevee. Glaceon was prepared to take Eevee, but Espeon stopped the Eeveelution. Espeon looked at me for a short while and then Luana before glancing at our Partner Pokémon.

_'__Kellyn…Luana…thank you for rescuing us in our time of need.' _Espeon said.

_'__T-telepathy…I've never experienced something so fascinating…'_ I relayed to the Espeon as I received a smile in response.

_'__The two of you are very smart, yet humble. Something like that is to be admired. I entrust the two of you to take good care of our little Eevee. It's about time she goes out into the world and see what it has to offer. With the both of you fighting your way up this dastardly building so valiantly, I already know that you two will be doing great work in protecting this region. We're already aware of everything occurring outside, thanks to some Psychic types lending your Ranger friends a hand at the Ranger Union when it was under attack. I'll teleport my husband and myself to the Ranger Union in case any more mind controlled Pokémon decide to head over there. Take care of my daughter.' _Espeon said.

_'__Yes ma'am, she's already helped us out so much, the least we could do is have her as a Partner Pokémon! We won't let you down!'_ I said to the Espeon.

_'__I know, the two of you have done a lot as well. Eevee, your father and I are so proud of you, go forth and save Almia alongside these two Rangers!' _Espeon said as Eevee nodded.

Happy with Eevee's response, Espeon bowed her head before teleporting herself and Glaceon away in an instant.

"That was so touching, I'm glad Eevee's a part of our team now!" Luana said as Eevee hugged her.

"I'm happy too, especially since we saved her parents from such an awful fate. Now that we have three awesome Partner Pokémon to help us out with anything that's thrown at us, we can head out of this terrifying room. But…where's the exit?" I asked.

Looking around and discovering nothing but the bare walls was…eerie to say the least. The only way was going back down instead of up. Our worry and fear subsided a little once we saw the same grunt from earlier crawling out from underneath a table at the back of the room as he ran up to us.

"Hahah, good thing I knew where you two were going and raced up here! Now the two of you are trapped in here with me!" The grunt said as he folded his arms over his chest.

"Well…you're right about that, but we're certain that you know where the exit for this room is, right?" Luana asked.

"Er…somewhat, but I'm not telling either of you that! Now you guys can't reach the boss and you'll be stuck here!" The grunt said as I scoffed.

"Really? Haven't you seen what Team Dim Sun is doing to Almia? Even if you didn't care about that, the Espeon and Glaceon that were in this room definitely weren't happy to know about the destruction taking place. They might even come back and take their anger out on a poor grunt." I said.

"T-t-those two are gone?! Some of the researchers were going to experiment on them, the boss wanted to use those two for profit, along with that shiny Eevee following you two!" The grunt exclaimed.

"They certainly are, I think we can all agree that they wouldn't be happy to know about what the researchers have tried doing to their daughter. If they can't find those researchers, the Eeveelutions are most likely coming after you. So what's it going to be, are you going to help us with the door problem we're having?" I asked as the grunt trembled.

"W-w-well…I'll help…follow me, the staircase is hidden at the end of this room." The grunt said as he walked towards the back wall.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Luana said.

"So do I, we'll follow him from a distance in case he tries pulling a fast one on us." I said as we continued to follow the grunt.

After a bit of walking, we reached the end of the room, where Luana and I spotted a tile that was a dark gray, standing out a considerable amount compared to the white tiles adorning the room. The grunt stopped just before the tile and stepped on it, causing the entire room to shake, as if we were experiencing an Earthquake.  
"W-w-what did you do?!" Luana asked.

"Just helping, that's all." The grunt said in a malicious tone as Luana and I got on the ground to avoid falling over.

After some time, the rumbling stopped and Luana and I stood up. Structurally speaking, the room was intact, though there were a few ceiling tiles coming loose and falling near us.

"What was that about?! I figured that something was up with you…" I said as the grunt grinned.

"Acting dumb was part of my plan you fools! While this room does have an exit, you two are never going to find it! Just take a look up and you'll see that this is the end for you!" The grunt said.

Neither of us did as the grunt said for the fear that he would try attacking us and instead, we looked straight at him, which surprised the grunt.

"Hmph, I would have thought the two of you would've actually looked up. No matter…come out everyone!" The grunt yelled.

"Everyone?" Luana and I said.

To our utter surprise, a grunt dropped down from the ceiling to our left, followed by a grunt on our right. In less than a minute, we were outnumbered as grunts continued to drop from the ceiling, with a total of ten grunts in front of us, including the one that led us to the back of the room.

"Not so brave now, huh? Don't worry, you two are going to meet your match. C'mon guys, let's show these Rangers who's in charge here!" The grunt said.

Luana and I ran all the way to the front of the room so we could create distance between the large group and us. The grunt's cohorts let out a yell before all of them took out a small Miniremo, identical to the one that Alfred had. Each of them began typing away and we immediately saw a group of Pokémon come down from the ceiling. The Pokémon were a Scizor, two Marshtomp and a Hariyama, all of which immediately rushed towards us. The Hariyama, while not a fast Pokémon by any means, was definitely the worst threat to deal with as its punches could easily mean broken bones or death for Luana or myself. It didn't take too long for me to think of what to do in such a terrifying situation.

"Okay, Pachirisu, Thunderbolt on those Pokémon!" I said.

Pachirisu charged up energy for a few short seconds before unleashing a powerful Thunderbolt, shocking all of the Pokémon and sending the Scizor and Hariyama towards the back of the room. The Marshtomp, as expected, wasn't fazed by the move and the two of them both began to charge up a Hydro Pump.

"Eevee, use Headbutt on those Marshtomp!" Luana said as Eevee sprinted forward and hit one of the Marshtomp hard on its head, sending it far back.

The other Marshtomp cancelled its attack and tried hitting Eevee with a Mud Shot, sending a wave of mud on the ground as Eevee hopped out of the way. Eevee then went over to the grunts as the Scizor and Hariyama struggled to get back up. Luana on the other hand made loops around the Hariyama that was lying down on the ground, while I did the same around the Scizor. The other Marshtomp that was hit by Eevee raced over to her, only for the first Marshtomp to hit its buddy with a Mud Shot, making it go flying towards the grunts, with the Marshtomp and two grunts colliding with each other.

"Good work Eevee! Keep it up!" I said as Eevee headed back towards us.

At this point, the Scizor and Hariyama managed to recover and came over to us, though they immediately stopped in their tracks upon spotting Pachirisu, who was at the ready for them.  
"Gah! What are you Pokémon doing?! You're afraid of that little thing? Attack them all, now!" The grunt said as his cohorts typed in some commands.

"Pachirisu, Eevee, send those Pokémon back to those grunts!" Luana said as Eevee tackled both Marshtomp, while Pachirisu used Thunderbolt on the Scizor and Hariyama.

Luana and I took advantage of the grunts scrambling to get their mind controlled Pokémon back up to attack us and we made loops around them, slowly bringing up each of their Friendship Meters. At this point, the Hariyama's Friendship Meter was only five percent filled, Scizor's was twenty percent and the Marshtomps were both around ten percent. Luana and I knew we had to act fast, especially as the Pokémon all eventually got up considering that they were in pain from the attacks they endured thus far.

"Okay Luana, you know what to do, first thing's first, we capture that Hariyama, then the Scizor followed by the Marshtomp. How's that sound?" I asked.

"Sounds like a plan to me, let's do it!" Luana said as the Hariyama rushed forward.

The Hariyama's right fist briefly glowed a dark red as it remained stationary. I knew that it was charging up for a Focus Punch so I had Pachirisu paralyze it as the other three Pokémon came at us. Luana and I dodged the two Marshtomp's Water Pulse, which hit the wall behind us as we concurrently made loops around the two Pokémon. Scizor's claw glowed a metallic silver as it tried swiping us with Metal Claw, which narrowly avoided my head. Luana ordered Buneary to attack the Scizor with a Hi Jump Kick, which caught the Pokémon off guard as it got sent back a few feet.

Hariyama eventually broke free from paralysis, though I had Pachirisu stun it once more as we focused on the two Marshtomp. Luana and I switched between doing loops around the Hariyama and the Marshtomp while Buneary was fighting with the Scizor. Eevee on the other hand decided to take on the Marshtomp directly, who were trying to attack her with Mud Shot. This continued for a few minutes and thankfully, Luana and I captured one of the Marshtomp, who went off to the side and waited. I checked the Hariyama's Friendship Meter on my Styler and saw that it was already sixty percent full, thanks to Luana charging my Capture Line up to stage two and making it much more easier for us. At this point, the Scizor and Marshtomp rushed forward, with the Scizor flapping its wings as it launched Silver Wind, sending bright silver triangular shards in our direction. Barely managing to dodge the dangerous move meant that Luana and I had to dive to the floor, which gave the Marshtomp the chance to move forward as it managed to hit me with a Water Pulse, knocking me back a few feet as Luana caught me before I fell.

"Phew…thanks Luana, let's catch this Hariyama!" I said as the Hariyama broke free from paralysis.

"Yeah, let's capture these Pokémon!" Luana said as Hariyama's fist continued to glow red.

The Hariyama released the Focus Punch it was containing and it reeled back to strike me. The grunts were cheering in the background as the Hariyama aimed right for me, though their cheers turned to enraged shouting as Pachirisu and Eevee did a combined Headbutt to knock the powerful Pokémon off of its feet. Luana made loops around the Scizor as Buneary kept it busy, while I focused on the Hariyama, which was getting up to its feet to prepare another attack. Eevee hurried on over to the Marshtomp, which was charging up a Hydro Pump, though it was prevented from doing so by Eevee, who tackled it hard and sent it flying near the Scizor.

At this point, the Hariyama got back up and ran forward, which made the Marshtomp retreat. Luana and I quickly got out of the way as it used Brick Break directly where I was standing moments before. The Hariyama moved quickly and tried swinging around for another attack and it loomed over me as I laid on the ground attempting to scramble away. Hariyama slammed its fists down and I rolled out of the way before it managed to crush me, which made the Pokémon cause a massive dent in the floor as the grunts continued to shout in anger.

"This is a tough battle, Pachirisu, help us out!" I said as Pachirisu used Thunder Wave on all three Pokémon, which managed to impact all of them.

I made loops around the Hariyama while Luana made loops around the Marshtomp and Scizor. It only took two dozen more loops for the Hariyama to be captured before it walked over to the side, so we continued with focusing on the last two Pokémon. I assisted Luana and helped her with doing loops around the Scizor, while the Marshtomp managed to break free from paralysis, only for Buneary and Eevee to attack it. I made sure to keep an eye on the grunts and the Marshtomp, making sure that neither tried to hurt Luana while I continued to increase the Scizor's Friendship Meter. A dozen loops later, the Scizor was captured as it went off to the side with the Hariyama and the first Marshtomp. Now that we had just one Pokémon to focus on, it wasn't so bad for Luana or myself.

"Alright, Pachirisu, stun that Marshtomp!" Luana said as Pachirisu used Thunder Wave on the Marshtomp, rendering it unable to move.

After that, I made loops around the Marshtomp which was eventually captured after twenty or so loops. With all four Pokémon captured after a grueling battle, they went their way back down the staircase, free from their trances. The grunts Miniremos fizzled and let out plumes of smoke, which made all of the grunts livid, especially the same grunt we encountered before, as all of them ran right at us. One of them was a bit faster than the rest of the grunts and tried punching me in the face, though I dodged him and Luana retaliated by giving him a powerful uppercut, sending him sprawling back. Another grunt rushed forward and tried to hit Luana, though I intercepted him and punched him quickly in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. The other grunts backed away, aside from the first grunt who lured us to the back of the room and he bravely charged forward in an attempt to take Eevee from us. Annoyed by his persistence, I tackled him to the ground before he could even think of escaping with Eevee, while Pachirisu and Buneary stood in front of us in case the remaining grunts tried to hurt us. After a brief struggle, I managed to take him down while Pachirisu and Buneary tag teamed and took out the rest of the grunts, with Luana and myself keeping a close eye on them.

"Those grunts weren't going down without a fight, good work everyone!" I said as the back wall opened up to reveal a staircase to the next floor.

"Well it's a good thing we managed to take them down with great teamwork. It'd be great to call the Ranger Union and ask them for some help, do you think things are all cleared up now?" Luana asked.

"I'm not sure if things have died down since Espeon and Glaceon went to the Union…that's what worries me the most. Let's go ahead and see how they're doing." I said as I was prepared to call the Ranger Union, only for the entire room to tremble slightly.

After a brief moment, I called Marcus in the hopes that he would pick up, which he did a few rings later.

"Hi Kellyn, hi Luana! How are things looking on your end?" Marcus asked.

"Very hectic, these grunts and admins are getting more and more violent. We just held down quite a number of them before they could escape. However, Luana and I almost got grounded to a pulp by a Hariyama no more than five minutes ago in the ensuing battle, that's how bad it's getting. What about you guys? An Espeon and Glaceon should be there to assist all of you, right?" I asked.

"Woah…I'm glad you guys made it out safely, that's what matters the most! As for us at the Ranger Union, we've got yet another swarm of Pokémon at the Ranger Union. These ones are just as aggressive as the last, and if we didn't have such great Rangers and Pokémon helping us out, then I'd really be worried about them breaking through and getting in the building. Espeon informed us of everything going on and how you guys rescued her and Glaceon. From now on, the Espeon's going to use her powers to help us out with the mind controlled Pokémon and to also send the grunts and admins you round up straight to the Ranger Union's holding room." Marcus said.


	67. Chapter 67: Inside Altru Tower: Part 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!**

Chapter 67: Inside Altru Tower: Part 8

"That's awful, it's a good thing you guys got backup! We appreciate the assistance Marcus, thanks for the help! Before we go, do you have any word on how the towns and cities are doing?" I asked as the grunts vanished in an instant.

"Well, Haruba Village, Chicole Village and Boyleland are unharmed. However, Pueltown and Vientown have taken some damage. Nothing too severe since we have Ranger trainees at those areas, but I did make note of any incident taking place. No citizens have been injured yet, but you can imagine the worry and stress associated with the attacks taking place!" Marcus said.

"I understand that, it's reassuring to know no one's hurt. I know it's very scary right now, but try to be as calm as you can, especially since any Rangers calling in are going to need the help of you, Linda and Rhythmi." I said.

"Thanks Kellyn, as you may have seen, the grunts were already warped away. We'll help you guys out as much as we can." Marcus said.

"I know, thank you Marcus, Luana and I are going to do our best. Before I finish up with you, how's everyone else doing?" I asked as we all went up the stairway.

"Everyone's okay thankfully, they're all preparing to fight the Pokémon heading this way. You guys take care, if there's anything else taking place, I'll let you and Luana know!" Marcus said.

"Sounds good Marcus, be careful." I said as I hanged up.

"Glad to know everyone's doing good, I was worried about them!" Luana said.

"I know, it's even worse than before with these tremors." I said.

"Yeah, they could even start happening a bit more frequently, though I hope that's not the case. As for the situation that's taking place right now, I'm glad that for the most part, the towns are safe, especially Chicole Village and Haruba Village. It's a good thing Terry is on a short vacation instead of travelling, I'd hate for him to get caught up in this mess." Luana said.

"That's right, I'm relieved that our families are okay, I just hope Vientown and Pueltown continue to hold up for as long as possible. People may not be injured yet, but it's only a matter of time before that could happen." I said as we reached the fifty sixth floor.

"Exactly, we'll be fine, everyone's more than capable of providing help in any areas. As for this floor…where should we go first?" Luana asked as we found ourselves in an area that was rather large and rectangular.

The floor itself had three doors, with one at the back and one on the left and right. Figuring that it'd be best to start with one of the doors closest to us, I deduced that we should head towards the left door, as it was only ten feet from us.

"How about we head to that door and see what's inside? I don't even know what to expect with this place anymore. It's like…a dangerous funhouse." I said as I smiled, both to reassure Luana and myself of the situation.

"Haha, this building's definitely like a funhouse for Blake Hall! Good idea, let's head through this door!" Luana said as she smiled back.

"Alright, I can face anything once you're with me!" I said.

"The same goes for me, I can do so much with you by my side." Luana said as I opened the door.

Inside of the room was a simple medical room, with various equipment, beds and chairs scattered around. The interior was very clean as we look around for any grunts, once we realized it was clear, or at least appeared that way, we entered the room. It felt rather odd considering how Luana and I came to the assumption that most of the rooms in this building would have grunts or admins loitering around, but this room was almost lifeless.

"This is weird…I would have thought this room would've had at least one person inside. Let's take a quick look around." I said.

"Yeah, let's go ahead and do that, who know what we'll find!" Luana said as we explored the room.

As expected, everything seemed normal, though Luana and I noticed a blue curtain at the back of the room which we hadn't seen before.

"Hmm, with how weird this entire building is, I would be very surprised if there was just a hospital bed behind this curtain." I said.

I slowly opened the curtain, revealing a pair of dark blue double doors. Luana and I pushed the doors open and entered into the next room, not knowing what to expect. Despite the previous room being a medical room for the sick and injured, this room that we just entered was by far one of the worst rooms we've been in. While the room was very dark and drab, it was obvious that from the floor to the ceiling were gigantic cages filled with Pokémon of all different species. We both looked around in shock as we could see Pokémon trembled in fear.

"How…how horrible, we need to rescue them so they can't continue suffering!" Luana said.

"I agree, but we need to be careful, there's most likely going to be someone nearby that's watching us." I said.

Luana and I didn't even take a step forward before something in the far left corner started to shift. Out from the corner emerged a female Team Dim Sun admin, who sauntered over to us as the Pokémon backed away from her in their cages.

"Hi there, you two like the cute and sweet Pokémon that I'll be using to help the boss?" The admin asked.

"You…you need to stop this right now, Pokémon shouldn't be treated this way!" Luana said.

"Heheh, I'm going to make these Pokémon get influenced by the Shadow Crystal slowly, then I'll have them attack all over Almia. I don't care what you Rangers say, Boss Hall will be so proud of me once he sees the chaos and pain I've done!" The admin said.

"If that's the case then we'll do whatever it takes to stop you!" I said.

"Oh? So you two kiddies want to battle me? Hm…alright, I'll play your games, but you two are in for an awful surprise once you see the Pokémon I have prepared for you." The admin said as she took out a normal sized Miniremo and began typing.

Dropping down from the ceiling was a small pink blob, which I immediately recognized as a Ditto. It became flat like a pancake upon impact and in a second, it went back to an undefined shape. The Ditto then looked up at us, with Luana and I seeing its expressionless face. We were both pretty scared, while most Rangers would scoff at seeing a one foot tall pink blob, Luana and I knew that such a Pokémon under mind control would be a serious threat and not something to take lightly at all.

"We're…we're facing that Ditto?" Luana asked as our Partner Pokémon hid behind us.

"Heh, that's right! Come now Ditto, show these Rangers what you can do!" The admin said.

Ditto immediately transformed into an Aggron, in fact, it looked identical to one in every single way. Luana and I got our Partner Pokémon and ran to the front of the room, just in the nick of time as the faux Aggron swung its tail, knocking aside some nearby tables. The Pokémon in the nearby cages were shaking to get free, but it certainly looked like Team Dim Sun made sure those cages weren't able to be broken at all. Once the Ditto saw we were out of its reach, it then transformed into a Dodrio as it charged at us with the three beaks firing up a Tri Attack.

Luana and I dodged the Tri Attack by getting on the floor quickly, with the separate compounds making impact with the wall behind us. As I turned around swiftly, I saw one part of the wall had melted away, while the double doors had a thin layer of ice over them. The attack itself took less than a minute for it to reach us, so Luana and I had to do something and fast. With there being nowhere to hide, it would only be a manner of time before the transformed Ditto would be ordered to attack us again.

"Okay Luana, the only idea I really have is for us to have Pachirisu stun the Ditto. I'm just worried about it transforming again." I whispered.

"I know, it's a really troubling situation. Let's try it out, it can't hurt." Luana said as the Dodrio charged at us once more, with its beaks going in quick succession.

"Pachirisu, paralyze that Dodrio!" I said as Pachirisu used an electric jolt to stun the transformed Dodrio.

Luana wasted no time in doing her usual work as she made loops around the Pokémon, with me charging up her Styler so it reached the second stage and made things easier. The admin was angrily typing on her Miniremo to no avail as the faux Dodrio tried to break free from paralysis.

"Gah! What are you two doing?! Grrr…I can't believe I was going easy on you two, but it's time I do something to help out with Ditto!" The admin said as Dodrio finally managed to shake off its paralysis.

Ditto, instead of attacking like it was initially forced to do, instead decided to go back towards the admin and morphed into a Golem, making Pachirisu's Thunder Waves far less effective. The newly transformed Pokémon then rolled up into a ball as it rushed right at us. While Pachirisu's Thunder Wave and any other Electric type moves wouldn't be very effective, we all knew that it was our only shot, as Buneary's Hi Jump Kick could possibly miss and she'd get hurt.

"Pachirisu, use Thunderbolt on that Golem!" Luana said as Pachirisu unleashed a surge of electricity, shocking the Golem and sending it across the floor, away from us.

The Golem quickly skidded to a stop and uncurled itself before going back into a Ditto once more. The Pokémon stood still as we wondered what it would do next, before long, it transformed into Charizard. The Charizard then leaned back before quickly releasing a Flamethrower near us, scorching the ground right in front of where we were standing.

"Luana…what do we do? No matter what moves we use, this Ditto is just going to Transform once again." I said.

"This is a real predicament, I think the only thing we can do is keep stunning it no matter what Pokémon it turns into. If we don't, we might get hurt or killed by the Ditto." Luana said.

"Can you two just give up? It's obvious I'm going to win!" The admin yelled as the Charizard continued to watch at us from across the room.

"We're not losing to the likes of you!" I said as I gently nudged Pachirisu, who stunned the Charizard as the admin's mouth hung agape.

"Grr…you two are really getting on my nerves!" The admin said.

Luana and I paid her no mind and I made loops around the Charizard, with the Ditto's Friendship Meter having risen to twenty percent. Around two dozen loops were made before the Charizard broke free from paralysis, and the Ditto changed form once more, this time, morphing into a Buneary as Pachirisu and Eevee hid behind us. In a few leaps, the transformed Ditto came over to us and we cautiously looked at it in the event that it tried attacking us. To our surprise, the fake Buneary instead went up to Luana's Buneary and quickly twirled around in a fast moving dance that our eyes couldn't track at all. The two Buneary were side by side with absolutely no differences between them as Luana and I carefully looked at both of them.

"Wow…this is terrifying…" I mumbled as we looked at both Pokémon.

"Yeah…you're telling me…got any ideas?" Luana asked.

"I…I can't think of anything…" I said as the admin laughed.

"What's wrong Rangers? Can't tell the difference between your Buneary and a transformed Ditto?" The admin mocked.

"Actually…I just got an idea Kellyn…" Luana whispered as both Buneary looked at her.

"What's your plan?" I asked as Luana leaned over to me.

"We'll see which one's attracted to Pachirisu. After all, our first two Partner Pokémon are together just like us, so we just have to determine which one is lovey-dovey like us." Luana said.

"Good idea, let's try it out. Pachirisu, can you please help us out here?" I asked as Pachirisu came out from behind my leg, while Eevee looked in absolute confusion.

The real Buneary, which was on the right, was immediately tackled by Pachirisu the second he saw her, confirming that she was the real one while the transformed Buneary stood there motionless.

"W-what…h-how did you…" The admin said as she gritted her teeth in frustration.

"Good work Pachirisu, go stun that imposter!" I said as Pachirisu paralyzed the fake Buneary.

Starting the process once more, I made loops around the transformed Pokémon as it's Friendship Meter began to increase to thirty five percent. The Ditto was struggling to break free from paralysis as I focused on making loops around it while also trying to keep an eye on the admin for fear that she would try harming one of us. Eventually though, the Ditto managed to move again as it went over to the admin, quickly transforming into a Torterra. The large Pokémon lumbered over to us and began to charge up a move, so Pachirisu got into position right away.

"Alright Pachirisu, let's use Thunder Wave on that Torterra!" Luana said as Pachirisu stunned the Torterra.

Since the Torterra was part Ground, I knew that we had to be quick, so Luana made loops around the Pokémon while I had Pachirisu standing by me in the event the Torterra broke free from paralysis. The Torterra continuously shook off the paralysis while Luana and I continued to make loops around the Pokémon for several minutes, managing to bring the Ditto's Friendship Meter up to sixty percent. Soon enough, Pachirisu got a bit tired and went off to the side to recoup his energy, while the Ditto began to transform into yet another Pokémon, this time, a Venusaur.

The Venusaur attacked quicker than I thought imaginable with a Seed Bomb, managing to make some of the flooring get damaged once the seed made impact. Venusaur then used Vine Whip on Luana's wrist in an attempt to drag her.

"Pachirisu, Eevee, hit that impostor with a Headbutt!" I said as both Pokémon sprinted forward and hit the Venusaur, making it double over in pain as it managed to regain its footing soon afterwards.

With Luana's wrist now free, we knew that it wouldn't be too difficult before the Ditto was captured safely.

"I can't believe that you two are so strategic! Here I was planning for your demise and yet you two aren't fazed at all…gah! It's absolutely ridiculous how this dumb Ditto isn't able to do anything for me!" The admin said.

"That Ditto's not dumb, you're the one controlling it to do your bidding!" I said as the admin watched us from across the room.

"I just…I just can't believe you two have come so far, I'll make sure to take you two down!" The admin said as the Venusaur prepared a Razor Leaf.

Venusaur launched the Razor Leaf at us which was incredibly fast moving and swift. I managed to push Luana out of the way as a couple of the leaves slashed my arm, making the admin smirk. I winced in pain as I got up, while Luana also got up quickly afterwards.

"I-I'm alright, it's nothing too bad, I'll live." I said as Luana took her Ranger jacket off before wrapping it around my arm wound without hesitation.

"You're hurt Kellyn, we'll handle this woman and the Ditto together." Luana said as the admin scoffed.

"Say what you want, it's time to end this!" The admin said as Ditto transformed into an Ariados.

Before the Ditto could attack, Luana had Pachirisu stun the Pokémon as she made loops around it quickly. The Ariados remained stunned for quite a while as blood seeped down my arm, though I made sure to be of assistance to Luana as I charged up her Styler up to its second stage. I was happy to see that the Ditto's Friendship Meter was already a staggering eighty percent, though the admin, who was mad the entire time, instead looked very worried and scared.

Eventually, the Ariados broke free from paralysis and tried firing a String Shot at Luana to make her unable to move…however, Luana and I were able to dodge it just in time as the Ariados hopped on the ceiling. Ariados then shot out a Poison Sting which we evaded, though not without pain searing through my arm from the deep cuts the Razor Leaf left. Luana shot me a worried look, though her expression soon changed to being very determined as we continued with making loops around Ditto, soon reaching ninety five percent. Just as the Ariados was about to attack yet again, Luana managed to capture it as the Pokémon registered in our Browser, with the admin's Miniremo soon fizzling and crackling before going silent.

"We…we did it, great work Luana!" I weakly said as the admin screamed with rage.

"Do you two realize what you've done?! Now that you've defeated me, these cages are going to be opened now!" The admin said as the Ariados transformed back into Ditto.

Right on cue, the cages did in fact open and the various Pokémon came out of the cages. All of them gained newfound courage as the admin ran past us, with the Pokémon running after her. Soon enough, the room was almost completely empty, aside from us, our Partner Pokémon and the Ditto.

"Kellyn…your arm…" Luana said as the Ditto came up to us, a sad expression on its small face.

Ditto then transformed into a Blissey and used Heal Pulse on me, making it seem as if my wound was never there. The both of us were touched at the Ditto's kind gesture and we happily pet it, with the Ditto having a texture similar to pudding. Ditto smiled happily at us and left the room, leaving us by ourselves. Luana then unwrapped her jacket from my arm, to our astonishment, the blood that would have been on her jacket was gone as well, thanks to the Heal Pulse.

"Wow…I'm all better now! Looks like that admin didn't know what was coming to her. Are you ready to continue onwards?" I asked.

"Definitely, I'm ready for us to keep going! However…my main concern was your arm, I was really worried seeing you injured like that." Luana said as we exited and headed to the main part of the floor, with the right and back doors waiting for us.

"I know, I'm glad to be doing better now. Good work in there team, now let's head to this door over here!" I said as our Partner Pokémon happily followed us to the door on the right side of the hallway.

I went ahead and opened the door, noticing that this room was void of any people at all. The inside of the room had multiple tables and seats, as well as a number of vending machines against the wall.

"Hm, looks like another break room. Do you want to thoroughly explore this room before heading to the one at the far back?" Luana asked.

"Definitely, it'll be crucial to do so, after all, I don't want us to miss any grunts and then we end up encountering a swarm of them later on." I said as Luana and I looked throughout the room.

Despite us looking everywhere imaginable, neither one of us could locate any grunts. I even had the idea of looking up towards the ceiling to see if they were perhaps trying to be sneaky and were hiding up there, but not a single grunt was anywhere in the room. After looking around for several minutes and as we were about to leave, my Styler began to ring, which I quickly answered seeing it was Wendy.

"Hello Wendy, what's going on at the Ranger Union?" I asked.

"Hi Kellyn, the Ranger Union attack's calmed down compared to earlier. In fact, I'd say it's very safe when considering how chaotic we were earlier. Some Rangers have already gone to assist Pueltown residents with anything they may need. What about you guys?" Wendy asked.

"We're safe, Luana and I just captured an admin's Ditto. She was absolutely insane with the way she was treating it…and the plan she had for the Pokémon that were in cages…it was horrific." I said.

"Wow, it's a good thing you two came along when you did, saving those Pokémon must have felt amazing! Uh…I feel the ground shaking right now…wait a second…is that what I think it is?" Wendy asked.

"What is it Wendy? Are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine but…there's an admin running right for us along with a whole bunch of Pokémon…they don't look like they're under mind control at all…" Wendy said.

"That's the same admin we were talking about, she must be running really fast to get away from all those Pokémon!" I said.

"She definitely is! She's actually going to be reaching here in a little bit so we'll be taking her in once she does." Wendy said.

"Be very careful with her, she's a bit…twisted." I said.

"Understood, since things are essentially wrapping up at the Ranger Union, Sven, Keith and I will be going to the Altru Tower soon. We'll be using the two gems we have to circle around the tower as previously mentioned." Wendy said.

"Sounds like a good plan, thanks Wendy!" I said as Wendy hanged up.

"Awesome, now we'll be getting some help with the Shadow Crystal! Let's keep going, what floor are we on?" Luana asked.

"We're on the fifty sixth floor now, we don't have much more floors to go!" I said as we walked towards the door.

Suddenly, the door burst open as we saw a nurse with a Team Dim Sun logo embroidered on the upper left hand side of her uniform. Upon spotting us, she wordlessly took out a Miniremo, which surprised me as I thought she was simply medical personnel. The nurse typed away on her Miniremo, which soon made a pair of Haunter appear a few feet in front of us.

"We can handle them, let's go!" Luana said as we both made loops around the ghastly Pokémon.

As usual, the Haunter vanished before us and reappeared off to our sides as they opened their mouths to release a purple flame. Luana and I ceased making loops as the flames chased us down, hopping after us rather fast. We managed to avoid the flames with no trouble as they soon dissipated, with both of us once again making loops around the Haunter. After that, the two Pokémon vanished into thin air and I soon felt a cold shiver run down my spine. The Haunter once again appeared, though this time, close to the ceiling as they watched us intently. The Haunter then launched a Shadow Ball at us, which made Eevee use her own Shadow Ball in retaliation, cancelling out the Pokémon's move, angering the both of them.

Luana and I then made loops around both Pokémon, taking our time to ensure that they didn't disappear again. Soon enough, we captured both Pokémon without any effort as the nurses' Miniremos fizzled out and ceased working, which made the two Haunter disappear.

"I'll…I'll tell Leilani about this, she'll punish you two!" The nurse said.

"Leilani's already defeated, she won't be able to hurt anyone else." Luana said as the nurse gasped.

"You two beat her? I see…I'll be making a hasty retreat then…" The nurse said as she bolted out of the room.

"Good work team, let's head to the room at the back!" I said as Luana and I exited the room.

"We're doing pretty good, but let's be careful, we haven't seen Kincaid or Heath yet, but I'm worried for when we do see them." Luana said as we headed to the door at the very back of the room.

"That's a good point, maybe we'll encounter them soon enough. Either way, we'll be as safe and as cautious as we can." I said as I opened the door, which revealed a staircase.

Luana and I went up the staircase quickly and we were halfway up before the building began to shake once more, though it quickly subsided.


	68. Chapter 68: Inside Altru Tower: Part 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!**

**A/N: Coming down to the final grind, but I enjoy writing this story and I have a one shot in the works (also focused on Kellyn and Luana of course!)**

Chapter 68: Inside Altru Tower: Part 9

"The Shadow Crystal's strength has increased to Level Three! The Shadow Crystal's Strength has increased to Level Three!" A robotic voice announced over the PA system that was in the stairwell.

"Level Three…we have to hurry!" Luana said as we continued up the staircase.

After a minute or so, we reached the fifty seventh floor and discovered that it was just like the floors with Ice and Leilani, the floor itself had a door on the right and the same upside down U formation that was always associated with the previous floors of the Sinis Trio. Luana and I walked up to the door on the right and opened it, not knowing what to expect.

The inside of the room was large and square, with the room itself being very cluttered and filled up with books and all sorts of electronic equipment. It was hard to navigate the area, as the entire room was essentially like the aisles of a supermarket, only more narrow. However, Luana and I moved around and looked for any grunts that could have been nearby, though we discovered absolutely no one. As we were preparing to continue our search, I spotted a toppled bookshelf from the corner of my eye. Sitting on top of it was a mind controlled Umbreon which was staring at me intently. Upon being spotted, the Umbreon hopped off of the bookshelf and walked over to me, reaching halfway as it arched backwards and fired off a Shadow Ball at me, which I managed to barely avoid.

"Okay Pachirisu, use Thunder Wave!" I said as Pachirisu managed to stun the Dark type Pokémon.

Luana and I then made loops around Umbreon, making sure to be as quick as we could before it broke free from paralysis. Thankfully, the Pokémon's Friendship Meter was increasing at a rapid pace as it was already at forty percent.

Despite our best efforts to keep going and attempt to capture the Umbreon, it still managed to shake off the paralysis as it released a fast moving Dark Pulse, which were like black boomerangs slicing through the air as we rushed to get out of the way, though without any of the rebounding taking place. Some of the bookcases behind us soon got shredded from the attack, which was a clear and terrifying indicator of what would've happened if Luana and I didn't move in time. Umbreon continued to attack with Dark Pulse, though these missed us and flew overhead, managing to destroy some parts of the wall.

"Luana, when the timing's just right, go ahead and have Pachirisu stun that Umbreon!" I whispered as Luana gave a thumbs up.

"You got it, this Umbreon's in worse pain than any of the Pokémon we've encountered in this tower." Luana said as Umbreon ceased its barrage of attacks.

Luana went ahead and ordered Pachirisu to paralyze the Umbreon once more, which he soon did as the Pokémon stopped moving. I then made loops around the Pokémon, making sure to be as quick as I could so it wouldn't end up breaking free from paralysis. Despite me assuming that the Umbreon would manage to become mobile again, it surprisingly didn't and after I made two dozen loops, the Pokémon was captured and the mind control ended. Luana and I high fived each other and petted Pachirisu as Umbreon walked over to us, free from the trance it was under.

"Awesome, now we have another Pokémon to assist us, c'mon Umbreon, let's go!" I said.

All of us exited the room and walked around to the very end of the floor where the upside U was finished. To our right was the staircase being blocked off by a large fence that was electrified with a dark yellow current, while to our left hand side was a yellow door with the Team Dim Sun logo emblazoned on it. Luana and I each took a deep breath…and headed inside to face off against Heath. Entering the room, we found that it was like the last two rooms with wires running alongside and connecting to a large translucent yellow orb, which was crackling with electricity from end to end. Without either Luana or myself taking a step into the room, we saw Heath emerge from behind the orb, wearing the yellow vest we had seen him with from since Hippowdon Ruins.

Heath looked at me with a curious expression and then looked at Luana and our Pokémon. Despite being a member of the Sinis Trio, he didn't appear to be nearly as intimidating as I thought he would have been, at least based off of what he was seeing. Getting a better look at Heath now compared to in the Ruins, I could see that he had a number of Pokémon tattoos on his skinny arms, which he was more than happy to show off. Heath's yellow hair was standing straight up and his demeanor certainly looked as if he was about to wage war on Luana and I. After what felt like an eternity of Heath staring at us, he took out a Miniremo with a malicious grin on his face.

"You know, you two must be good to come this far. Since you two are all the way up here, that means Leilani and Ice were captured, right?" Heath asked.

"Yes…yes, they were apprehended by us." I said as Heath closed his eyes for a few moments before reopening them.

"Figured as much, Leilani was too crazy and Ice tended to be very full of himself. However, I won't underestimate you two at all, as I've heard much about the Top Rangers from Mr. Kincaid and Mr. Hall. We'll see who emerges as the victor, now get ready!" Heath said as he typed on his Miniremo.

'_This is it! We've got to take whatever Heath has to throw at us!' _I thought to myself as we soon felt a slight rumble.

Within moments, a large and powerful Dragonite burst through the floor and landed down in front of us, rage clearly prevalent on its face. Heath smirked and looked at us while the Dragonite did the same.

"Go." Heath said as Dragonite began to fire a Hyper Beam from its mouth.

"Pachirisu, stop that Dragonite!" I said as Pachirisu, who was ready and full of energy to help us out, stunned the Dragonite with a bright burst of electricity, which was bright enough to make us close our eyes momentarily.

I immediately made loops around the Dragonite, with Luana charging up the Styler to its second stage. Heath didn't show any expression as I did so, but I paid him no mind as I focused on the Dragonite. The Friendship Meter increased at a very slow rate, reaching about ten percent after I did two dozen loops. I saw the Dragonite was now beginning to shake off the paralysis and I did my best to do some more loops before the paralysis completely wore off. Heath continued to observe us silently even as the Dragonite became mobile once more. The Dragonite's claw then turned a dark purple as it rushed for us and attempted to strike us into the ground.

"T-that's Shadow Claw…" Luana quietly said as we moved out of the way.

The move just barely missed the two of us and our Partner Pokémon as the Dragonite's fist went into the floor, causing a massive dent to occur from where Pachirisu was originally standing only moments ago. The Dragonite's fist was still embedded into the ground, so I quickly helped Luana to her feet while Pachirisu stunned the Pokémon.

"Sorry about almost killing you guys, that wasn't my fault." Heath said as Luana made loops around Dragonite while giving him a fierce glare.

_'__Geez, Heath may not talk much but he certainly is just as cynical as the other Sinis Trio.' _I thought to myself as Luana worked as quick as she could with filling up the Dragonite's Friendship Meter, which was now at twenty two percent.

Soon enough, the Dragonite broke free from paralysis and then started a Whirlwind in an attempt to make us go flying towards the wall.

"W-what power…Luana, hold your ground as best as you can, I'm here with you!" I said as we braced ourselves.

Dragonite continued to flap its wings fiercely as Luana and I did our best to maintain our traction, while our Pokémon were trying to do the same. Seeing that we weren't being forced back by the Dragonite, Heath typed in a command on his Miniremo, making the Pokémon cease with its ferocity. Pachirisu soon got a hold of himself from the strong winds and fixed his footing, charging up electricity and successfully stunning the Dragonite. Strangely, this made Heath grin, something that perplexed me and had me wondering what he had planned. Luana made loops around the Dragonite while I charged up her Styler to the second stage. Heath silently looked at both of us, appearing as if he was taking note of our determination to defeat him and capture the Dragonite. Unlike earlier, Dragonite was attempting to shake the paralysis off much quicker than it was doing so before, so it would only be a matter of time before the Pokémon continued its attack on us.

Luana continued to make quick loops around Dragonite while I continuously had Pachirisu stun the large Pokémon, making sure that it wouldn't be able to move anytime soon. The Friendship Meter at this point was thirty five percent but Luana and I knew that the Dragonite wouldn't be stunned forever. After Luana made a dozen more loops, the Dragonite shook off paralysis as it roared with rage.

"Now you're in for it." Heath said as he typed in a command.

Dragonite then fired a Flamethrower from its mouth, which was aimed directly for me, though I managed to get on the floor in time as it passed overhead, melting the wall behind us. Pachirisu understandably looked exhausted, so he went over to Buneary, Eevee and Umbreon to rest for a bit while Luana and I continued to increase the Dragonite's Friendship Meter. Seeing that Luana's Styler wasn't at its second stage anymore because of me, I decided to have Buneary come assist us in order to speed things up while I also took over for Luana.

"Buneary, we need your help!" I said as Buneary hopped on over to us.

Buneary then used her Poké Assist to increase the strength of my Styler while the Dragonite was preparing another attack to use against us. I quickly made loops around the Pokémon as it used its wings to slice through the air, causing a strong wind to nearly blow us back in the process. It was beyond difficult to keep my footing steady as I felt myself getting pushed back, though I felt Luana grab me and hold me tight in order to prevent me from colliding with part of the newly melted wall. The Friendship Meter was already at sixty five percent when Dragonite once again ceased its attack. The Pokémon let out a huff of annoyance as its hands began to glow a light yellow, signifying that it was nowhere close to being finished with us.

"Kellyn…get Pachirisu ready…" Luana worriedly said as Pachirisu hurried over to us, along with Umbreon and Eevee.

"Pachirisu, use Thunderbolt on that Dragonite!" I said as Pachirisu used a surge of electricity, hitting the Dragonite hard.

Dragonite was hurt badly by the attack and wasn't able to move as quickly as before, instead the Pokémon stayed where it was as Heath contemplated what to do next.  
"Heath, give it up! Dragonite may not be able to take much more attacks from us! Don't make it suffer anymore!" Luana said.

"That's what you two think…Dragonite can handle it, so you two are the ones who need to watch yourselves." Heath said as he typed in a command on his Miniremo.

Dragonite, despite being in serious pain, trudged forward and was preparing to use Flamethrower.

"Luana! We have to get on the ground quick!" I said as we both hit the deck and avoided the Flamethrower, though I could feel its intense heat as if it was scorching my back.

Dragonite stopped its fierce Flamethrower after a few more seconds of doing so. Luana and I got back up and Pachirisu got into position, ready to help us out. Pachirisu still had some energy left and used Thunder Wave on Dragonite, keeping it in place as Heath grinned. Luana charged my Styler up to its second stage and I made loops around the Pokémon, with the Dragonite's Friendship Meter increasing rather quickly compared to before, with it reaching eighty percent.

The Dragonite didn't even seem to fight the paralysis off like it was doing before, instead, it attempted to do another Flamethrower from a stationary position, however, because of the paralysis, Dragonite couldn't even open its mouth to fire a Flamethrower at us. At this point, I had done at least three dozen loops around the Pokémon, with Heath looking between Luana and I, though not out of rage, but seemingly out of respect. After a few more minutes of making loops around the Dragonite, which was still trying to do a Flamethrower, it was successfully captured.

The Dragonite then snapped out of its rage and looked around the room in a daze and then flew a few inches off of the ground as it exited the room. Heath's Miniremo then fizzled out, with a ton of smoke exuding from it as he began to clap.

"Well done, I knew you two could do it. I heard a lot about Kellyn and Luana from Mr. Kincaid and Blake Hall, though I must say that you two are very courageous, even more so in person. I suppose you two will need to take me in now." Heath said as he raised his hands above his head.

"Well…thanks Heath, er…it certainly was a challenge to get all the way up here, but we have to save Almia as well as take you in." I said as all of us cautiously approached Heath.

"That I can understand…I'm not sick like Leilani or Ice are, I honestly only really did this for the money and I mainly helped out with strategic places to have grunts stationed. You can ask any of the grunts or admins, they'll vouch for me." Heath said as we searched him for any weapons and upon finding none, detained him.

"Understood, let's get in touch with the Ranger Union." Luana said as she quickly called Marcus, who picked up right away.

"Hi there Luana, hi Kellyn, what's going on guys?" Marcus asked.

"We're good Marcus, I was wondering if you could have Espeon warp the last member of the Sinis Trio to the Ranger Union for us." Luana said.  
"Sure, I'll have Espeon do it right away! Be safe guys, you're nearly at the top of the tower! Keith, Wendy and Sven are on their way!" Marcus said.

"Thanks Marcus, we'll be up there in no time! I hope you stay safe too." Luana said as Marcus hanged up.

"Good luck you two, Kincaid and Blake Hall are two nasty pieces of work." Heath said.

"We know, good luck to you too Heath." I said as Heath was teleported away.

"Phew, at least we'll be having some backup on the top floor!" Luana said.

"I agree, it's a good thing too, I'm worried about that battle, but for now, we just need to destroy this Yellow Orb!" I said as I scanned the Yellow Orb, seeing that it can be destroyed by a Pokémon with a Crush power of three.

I checked the Umbreon's Poké Assist and I saw that it had a Crush Power of five, which was more than enough to help us out. I ordered Umbreon to destroy the orb and it did so by launching a Dark Pulse at it, which made it burst into shards that cascaded away from us. With the orb now destroyed and the blocked passage opened, Umbreon darted away from us as we also exited the room and headed to the main floor, where the darkened staircase ominously invited us upwards.

"Now it's time for the fifty eight floor…let's go onwards. Are you ready?" Luana asked.

"You bet I am, I wonder what the next floor has in store for us." I said as we headed up the staircase.

After a few minutes of walking, Luana and I reached the top of the stairs to the fifty eight floor, which, upon opening the door, revealed a massive and sprawling lab containing several glass containment units, shelves, draws and test tubes, with each of the tubes being filled with various liquids. The lab itself, being an open concept, meant that Luana and I had to be extremely cautious so that any scientists working here didn't spot us. There was only one scientist at the far corner of the room, making a mixture with a variety of liquids that were in the test tubes. At the very back of the room were two doorways, one of which clearly showed the staircase leading to the fifty ninth floor…as well as where I assumed Kincaid would be waiting for us. The doorway on the left led into a storage room based on the boxes I saw on the ground by the door. The scientist, looking tired and frustrated, sighed and put down the test tubes and he went to pick up one of the boxes and brought it in the room, with the door opening automatically. After a few seconds had passed, the scientist came back outside and continued his work, meaning Luana and I would need to be strategic about how we would sneak up on him.

_'__Man…what can we do…we can't just run over to him and knock him out, nor can we disguise ourselves safely. Neither option sounds like something Luana or I could feasibly do no matter how quick we are…but we have to think of something before he or someone else spots us.' _I thought to myself as we saw the scientist writing down some notes.

"Kellyn, what if we had our Pokémon distract him? Then if he comes too close or is hostile, we rush him?" Luana whispered.

"That's a good idea…I think that could work! Okay guys, while neither of us like the idea, you can all distract the scientist and we'll wait for you on the staircase halfway so we're out of view." I said as our Partner Pokémon ran over to the scientist.

Eevee, Pachirisu and Buneary went over to the man, who certainly looked overworked and seriously stressed out. Upon seeing our Pokémon however, he smiled, as if for the first time in months or years.

"Woah, such adorable Pokémon! I needed to do something to ease my mind, do you guys belong to any of the grunts here?" The scientist asked as our Pokémon shook their heads.

_"__Wow, it seems to be working really well…hopefully he won't try doing experiments on any of our Partner Pokémon, if he does then we'll be here to intervene.' _I thought to myself as the scientist gently picked up our shiny Eevee…and affectionally petted her.

"Hah, such fluffy fur! I've never seen such a cool looking Eevee before, I should take some photos for some memories!" The scientist said as our Partner Pokémon played with him before they ran into the same storage room.

"Oh no, you guys could get hurt! Come back here!" The scientist said as he took his cell phone out before promptly chasing after our Pokémon.

"Okay, let's go!" Luana said as we ran forward.

The storage room door was ajar and I took a glimpse inside the room, seeing that the scientist was still chasing our Partner Pokémon.

"Good, the scientist is still distracted, now let's go halfway up the staircase!" I said as we went halfway up the steps.

Within a minute or so, we heard a loud crash, which prompted Luana and I to look at one another. We were contemplating on checking to see if the scientist was okay, but the two of us knew he'd just call for help once that happened. Soon enough, our Partner Pokémon came running up the stairs to us and we headed up the dimly lit hallway. We nearly reached the top of the stairs where we saw a blue door, though it slammed open as we saw an older scientist stomp down the steps in a rage, completely ignoring us. Luana and I hanged back a bit and followed the man, who went into the same storage room that the first scientist was in. The two of us and our Pokémon could hear yelling and stayed out of sight so that we could hear what was going on without being spotted.

"What are you doing on the floor Anderson? You haven't even finished everything I asked you to do!" The scientist screamed.

"W-well sir…there were a bunch of nice Pokémon nearby that I thought were really awesome to see and so…" Anderson said.

"And you decided to goof off and not do your job, is that right?!" The scientist bellowed.

"Um…i-it's funny you mention that…heheh…" Anderson said as we heard a grunt of pain.

"Shut up! We need any Pokémon we can get so that Team Dim Sun puts them under mind control!" The scientist said as we heard some slight coughing

"But…but…Bob…doing something like that isn't right! I was only told to conduct research on Pokémon by studying their feelings and comparing it to humans!" Anderson said as Luana looked at me.

"Luana, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I whispered as Luana nodded.

"You want to go help that scientist, right?" Luana asked.

"That's correct, let's go before he gets more hurt!" I said as we rushed out from our hiding spot and entered the storage room, which contained several beakers, tablets and laptops.

On the floor was the same scientist as before, who we now know is named Anderson, while the other scientist, Bob, was standing above him with a stern expression and a gray lab coat. Anderson had a few cuts and scratches on his face, but right now, both men were looking at us and Anderson gave Bob a quick glance before backing up and slowly moving away from him.

"Rangers…what are they doing here? Aha, I know why, Anderson…you fool, those Pokémon you saw belong to these Rangers, not to anyone else! Come on, let's take these two down!" Bob said as he took out a Miniremo from his coat pocket.

"Ah…Bob, this isn't what I signed up for…" Anderson said as he slowly began to get back up. Bob kicked Anderson in the chest, sending him back on the ground in pain, shocking the both of us.

"Anderson, get out of my way!" Bob said as he typed in a command on his Miniremo.

In a fraction of a second, all of us heard a slight rumble that shook the room. None of us knew what to expect as usual, but we were prepared for it, as Bob laughed manically while Anderson cowered by a cluster of beakers.

_'__Oh no…what are we facing this time?' _I thought as the rumbling increased.

Bursting through the floor was a Golem, its eyes filled with pain and anger as it roared with an intense ferocity. Luana and I were prepared to start making loops around the Pokémon, only for me to sense something was terribly wrong.

_'__W-what's with this overwhelming sense of dread…?' _I thought to myself as I clenched my heart with my right hand.

Seeing that I wasn't making any loops around the Golem, Luana turned to me and checked on my condition. For the first time…my heart began to race not due to Luana's soft and warm touch, but rather because of fear.

"Luana…something's very wrong here…I don't know what it is but…I don't like it at all…" I said as Luana held my left hand while I continued to hold my heart.

Luana's eyes briefly moved up and she gasped as her eyes widened. Following where Luana's eyes went to, I also gasped, seeing that a Muk, which was originally flat like a pancake on the ceiling, was now watching us from a few feet away.

"Kellyn…let's walk back slowly, we don't want to startle this Muk and have it attack us before we get a chance to move." Luana whispered.

"That's right…I'll follow your lead." I said as we both slowly stepped backwards, which made Bob chuckle.

"You two can do whatever you feel is necessary. Just know that the both of you are in for a tough fight." Bob said as the Muk plopped down on the ground and joined the Golem.

"W-wait Bob…you can leave them alone, especially since they're Rangers!" Anderson said.

"What? Are you a traitor to Team Dim Sun? Maybe I should have Muk attack you first…" Bob said as Muk turned away from us and moved closer to Anderson.

"Hey Muk, it's me you're after! Hurry up and come get me!" I said as Muk turned back around and looked at me before moving forward.

"Kellyn, I know what you're doing, be careful…" Luana said.

"Don't you worry, I will." I said as the Golem remained stationary while I made distance between myself and everyone.

Muk began to move closer and Luana made loops around the Golem while I did the same with Muk. Luana had Buneary use Hi Jump Kick on the Golem, hitting it hard as it went back a few feet. I had Pachirisu focus on paralyzing both Pokémon so that Luana can get assistance and so neither of us would have to worry about either Golem or Muk attacking us. Luckily, both Pokémon stayed stunned long enough for us to continue making loops around them, while we had Pachirisu and Buneary by our sides in case they managed to break free from paralysis. After some time, both of our Pokémon needed a rest, and they went over with Eevee, who was watching Golem and Muk intently.

In the corner, Anderson was slowly getting to his feet and walking towards us, moving cautiously but quickly while Bob began to get irate. Luana and I paid Bob not much attention as we focused on the mind controlled Pokémon, gradually filling up their Friendship Meters.

"So that's how it's going to be, huh? Okay then, Muk, go after Anderson!" Bob said.

Muk quickly turned towards Anderson, who at this point was halfway across the room and was trembling slightly as he stood frozen in fear. Muk started to gurgle up something from its mouth and I grabbed Anderson to bring him closer to me, right before a large puddle of purple poison sloshed down on the ground, destroying a metal table and melting the floor.

"T-thank you…" Anderson said as he gathered the courage to run over to the doorway.

"Not a problem, I couldn't let that Muk harm you." I said as I made loops around the Muk.

Looking at the Golem and Muk's Friendship Meter, I was glad to see how much their Meters had filled up, with Muk's nearly being complete while Golem's was halfway. Anderson was sitting down by our Partner Pokémon and holding the three of them carefully, as Pachirisu and Buneary were gathering their strength back up. Seeing that our primary Partner Pokémon were still out of action, Eevee quickly jumped in to help and she definitely looked eager to do so.

"Great job Rangers, go go go!" Anderson cheered as we grinned at the thought of having someone motivate us even more.

"Gah, you've always been such a pain, keep your mouth shut!" Anderson shouted as Golem withdrew its head and limbs into a ball as it began to roll towards us.


	69. Chapter 69: Inside Altru Tower: Part 10

**A/N: I don't own Pokemon!**

**A/N: Final chapter's going to be published next week everyone! It'll be up on late on the 7th!**

Chapter 69: Inside Altru Tower: Part 10

All three of our Partner Pokémon gained a resurgence of strength and leaped into the air, simultaneously kicking the Golem. The force was enough to stop the Megaton Pokémon in its tracks as it uncurled itself and revealed its limbs and head once more. Luana and I switched positions as I made loops around Golem while she did the same with Muk. Several loops later, Luana noticed that Muk's right arm began to glow a bright purple and it unleashed a large mass of purple and green sludge towards us within seconds. Unlike all the other times we've been attacked, we didn't need to dodge out of the way and the move missed us completely, destroying a large chunk of the wall instantly as Bob clenched his teeth.

'_Phew…our feelings managed to reach through to Muk, otherwise we would've been killed on the spot…' _I thought to myself.

"Muk…what are you doing? Go after those Rangers and that traitor!" Bob said as Muk slowly inched forward as the Golem joined it, with both Pokémon being completely exhausted at this point.

"Bob…you've always been corrupted by Team Dim Sun, even as you knew about their evil goals and what they've done, isn't that right?" Anderson questioned as Bob remained silent.

"Eevee, hit that Muk with a Shadow Ball!" Luana said as Eevee launched a Shadow Ball at the Muk, hitting it square in the face as it became dazed from the blow.

After that, I made loops around the Golem, which was preparing to use Rock Throw. I hurriedly made loops and surprisingly, managed to capture the Golem as it relaxed and went off to the side. Bob on the other hand, appeared as if he was going to have a mental breakdown as Muk recovered from Eevee's attack. Luana then made loops around the Muk, doing so as best as she could while Bob typed in a command on the Miniremo. I glanced over at our Pokémon and saw that they had regained their energy, just in time to help Luana out.

"Alright, Pachirisu, stun that Muk!" I said as Pachirisu unleashed a surge of electricity, making the Muk cease all movement as Bob became angrier by the second.

"B-b-blasted Ranger…you two may have nearly won…but just you wait…" Bob said as I ignored him and took over for Luana with the capture.

About fifteen loops later, the Muk was caught and the two Pokémon were free from their trance as they walked out of the room while Bob's Miniremo ceased all functionality. Anderson timidly stayed by the door while Luana and I went up to Bob, fully intent to bring him in before he could try calling for help or attempt to hurt Anderson or us in the process. Bob walked towards us and attempted to throw a punch at me, even though I held my arms up to block his attack, I didn't need to do so as his fist was held in place.

"Wow…nice work Espeon." I said as Bob's eyes widened.

"I…I can't believe this…taken down by you two! Anderson, why didn't you do anything?" Bob yelled.

"To us, it seems like Anderson never wanted to do such awful things in the first place." I said as Anderson smiled.

"That's…that's right, I always liked the Rangers work but I couldn't find a job anywhere else…so I decided to work here." Anderson said.

"Tch, I can't believe you…" Bob said as he vanished in the blink of an eye.

"Did…did he just vanish?" Anderson asked.

"He did, the Espeon that Kellyn previously mentioned teleported him away from here. What are you going to do now Anderson?" Luana asked.

"I…I'd like to help out the Ranger Union if given the chance. I overheard how bad things were going on down there and I want to see what can be done, if anything, at this point to make up for any trouble I may have caused." Anderson said.

"That's pretty nice of you, I think the Ranger Union would really appreciate you doing that. Let me give Marcus a call." I said as I called Marcus, who answered quickly.

"Hi Kellyn, hi Luana, how can I help you two?" Marcus asked.

"Hi Marcus, Luana and I need to have Espeon teleport a Team Dim Sun scientist to safety." I said.

"Gotcha, I'll make sure to let Espeon know. By the way, Sven, Wendy and Keith are heading up the tower now, they had to capture some Pokémon that were acting up along the way and attacking citizens." Marcus said.

"Oh no…how badly are they hurt? Anything serious?" Luana asked.

"Thankfully nothing too major aside from some bruises and cuts…however…another wave of Pokémon are heading this way and we've gotten reports that Pueltown and the Ranger School are getting attacked as well." Marcus said.

"Figures that Team Dim Sun would aim for any and all targets, we have to stop them and fast! We're almost to the top so it's only a matter of time before we face off against Blake Hall." I said.

"That's right, the two of you can do it, even more so with the assistance of the other Top Rangers! Now, let me go ahead and have Espeon teleport the scientist out of there! Be careful you two!" Marcus said.

"Thanks Marcus, we'll do everything we can to bring peace to Almia. Bye for now!" I said as I hanged up.

"Thank you for the help guys, I'm sorry if I caused either of you any trouble…oh, can I get a photo of your awesome Partner Pokémon before I go?" Anderson asked as we both grinned.

"You didn't cause any trouble, so don't blame yourself. Also, sure, go ahead and take a photo!" I said as Anderson got his phone out and quickly snapped a photo of all of us.

"Thanks, figured it would be nice to get a good shot of the heroes of Almia before I get teleported away." Anderson said as all of us left the room and headed up the stairs, which were still dimly lit.

"Haha, we're just doing our best to make sure no one else gets hurt. You'll be well received at the Ranger Union." Luana said as Anderson was teleported away.

"I'm glad we were able to save Anderson, with the way Bob was acting, I'm fairly certain he would have killed Anderson if we were a minute late." I said as we continued up the staircase.

"Now that you mention it, you're right…that could have easily happened in the blink of an eye. It's a good thing we came when we did!" Luana said as we reached the blue doorway.

"Definitely, now Anderson's going to be safe and out of harm's way. However, what I'm worried about…is what's beyond this door. I think we both know who's waiting for us here." I said.

"Yup, there's no doubt that Kincaid's waiting for us. Let's take him down and continue doing our best!" Luana said as we opened the door and walked past the threshold.

_'__The fifty ninth floor…it's about as eerie as I can imagine, given that Kincaid's going to be the one we're facing.' _I thought to myself as we walked down the long, dark hallway.

The only thing at the end of the hallway was a door, emblazoned with the Team Dim Sun logo. The entire hallway smelled of cheap hair spray, which I did my best to ignore as we made our way down the hallway. I felt the atmosphere become very tense, as if the air itself would crush us any second. The entire situation was nerve wracking enough that I began to tremble, worried about the fight that would be taking place with Kincaid before it even occurred. Luana noticed how much I was shaking and stepped in front of me as she put both of her hands on my shoulders, allowing me to relax as I took deep breaths.  
"There you go, all better now sweetheart?" Luana asked.

"Much better, thanks Luana, let's do this." I said as we made our way to the door after a few seconds.

Upon opening the door, Luana and I were presented with a massive room which we immediately entered. The room itself had a trio of large monitors similar to the ones at the Ranger Union. The one on the left showed the chaos that a group of grunts were doing around Almia, while the one on the right displayed a detailed layout of the offshore research facility. The one in the center however…was what sent a chill up my spine…the monitor showed video feeds of a few locations around Almia, which were the Ranger Union, the Ranger School and Pueltown. Their perspective made me have the assumption of a high powered camera carefully watching those buildings for any movement.. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the Ranger Union wasn't the only target Team Dim Sun was after, but even worse, just like Marcus had stated, Team Dim Sun were going after the Ranger School and Pueltown as well, with both places being under attack by mind controlled Pokemon.

From the video feed, I could see the Pueltown Clinic and was relieved that the building was fine and undamaged. Some of the other buildings had some slight structural damage or were ablaze for a bit, though I saw Rangers extinguishing the inferos. While none of the buildings had collapsed, I knew that it would only be a matter of time before things would get even worse.

_'__My family and Luana's family…I just hope they'll be okay in this mess…they just have to be okay…' _I thought to myself.

In the center of the three monitors was a purple and black chair…almost immediately, Pachirisu's reaction was for his fur to stand up while Buneary and Eevee got into fighting stances. I didn't have to wait for the chair to turn around to see who was sitting in it, I knew it was Kincaid. The chair swiveled around, revealing a very angry Kincaid, with his hair done with his usual swirly hairstyle as he remained seated with his eyes fixated on us.

"Hello again Kellyn and Luana. I see that you two have finally made it up to me, it's about time. I was growing quite bored of watching you and your little friends day in and day out. Monitoring you guys for weeks was frustrating…but here you are, without anyone to help you." Kincaid said as he stood up.

_'__W-weeks…Kincaid was watching us for weeks…but knowing him, he's probably been stalking us for far longer, which is a terrifying thing to think about.' _I thought to myself as Kincaid took out a Miniremo.

"We're not afraid of you, we'll stop you just like all the others!" Luana said as Kincaid smirked.

"Really now? In that case, I may as well do a little ranting before I cut the chit chat. Kellyn, you've caused a lot of trouble for me and my boss, when we started Team Dim Sun as I posed as a Ranger School teacher, he and I came up with a great vision for Almia…of course, it was to make every Pokémon ours and ours alone. It was easy to recruit people, as most of them were so easy to manipulate and gain their weak minded trust." Kincaid said.

"Kincaid…you're nothing but a sad excuse for a man. We're done talking, let's get this over with." I said.

"Heh…so annoying like always, you were just like this in Ranger School too. Well now, it's time to do battle, I'll crush you, Luana and your Pokémon before taking your corpses back to the boss." Kincaid said as he typed in a command on his Miniremo.

Luana and I made sure to get a bit of distance from one another so that whichever Pokémon Kincaid was summoning to attack us wouldn't end up hurting both of us. Pachirisu stayed by my side and Buneary was with Luana. Eevee on the other hand, was on the lookout for the Pokémon to appear and cautiously looked around the room as she wandered off.

"Eevee, come over here quickly, whatever Pokémon Kincaid's already summoned is going to be dangerous!" I said as Eevee sprinted over.

I was glad Eevee did so, as a large Arbok came slithering out from one of the monitors, followed by a Weezing. The Arbok immediately charged for me, though I had Pachirisu stun the Pokémon as I made loops around it, while Luana had Buneary attack the Weezing before she started the capture process. The two Pokémon were still stunned from the paralysis for the time being, though the Arbok was beginning to shake off the paralysis much sooner thanks to its Shed Skin. Kincaid was silently watching Luana and I as we focused on capturing his Pokémon and increasing their Friendship Meters. Soon enough, the Arbok was on the move again, and it quickly sprayed a massive puddle of poison on the ground, slowly melting the floor. Before the Arbok could attack again, I had Pachirisu paralyze both Pokémon, making things easier for us. Luana and I continued our previous method of stunning the Pokémon whenever they managed to break free, though Pachirisu and Buneary got tired and soon went over to the side to rest. A few loops later, both the Weezing and Arbok shook free from paralysis and began to launch a combined attack. The Arbok launched a fast Poison Sting at us, which we managed to avoid by a few inches, prompting Kincaid to start laughing like a maniac.

"Heheheh, let's see how you two manage this!" Kincaid said.

Weezing then unleashed a dark black cloud, which quickly covered the room as it became very difficult to see anything. I covered my nose and mouth with my uniform and soon felt something brush up against me. In a panic, I stumbled backwards and fell on the ground, only to see that it was Eevee, who affectionately nuzzled my face. Despite the visibility making me only able to see a foot in front of me, I still wanted to desperately find Luana in the event that she would be targeted by the mind controlled Pokémon. Eevee went from my lap to the ground as I got up and looked for Luana. After a bit of wandering around, Luana and I bumped into one another, with both of us being happy that it wasn't the Weezing or Arbok.

"K-Kellyn! I'm so glad I found you…I can't find Buneary or Pachirisu anywhere!" Luana said.

"I haven't found them either, we have to keep looking before Kincaid or his controlled Pokémon find us!" I said as we heard coughing near us.

"H-hey you stupid Weezing, enough of this smog!" Kincaid yelled as the smog began to dissipate.

The room soon cleared up and we saw Kincaid no less than ten feet from us, with a malicious grin on his face when he spotted us. The Arbok and Weezing were intently watching our Partner Pokémon, which were over by the monitors…judging by the way our Pokémon were being observed, it was safe to safe that the entire situation didn't look good at all and would escalate if something couldn't be done. Kincaid charged at me as he let out a ferocious yell and I reacted by quickly kicking him square in the chest as he fell backwards. The Weezing and Arbok diverted their attention from our Partner Pokémon to rush over and help Kincaid back to where he was initially standing, which he did so as he continued to cough. Our Partner Pokémon also ran over to us for safety, though Pachirisu and Buneary were still exhausted and went back over to the side where they originally were.

"Don't try that again Kincaid, or you'll know what's coming to you!" I said as Kincaid steadied himself.

"My…how bold and brave you've gotten. You're not as spineless as I once assumed of you back in Ranger School." Kincaid said as Weezing hovered forward.

Weezing fired off a Sludge Bomb in Eevee's direction and she managed to get out of the way as the floor melted right where she was standing moments ago. The both of us made loops around the Pokémon as Kincaid's Arbok carefully watched us. Arbok then hurriedly followed up with a Poison Sting, this time heading straight for Luana. The powerful move headed towards Luana fast and I pushed her out of harm's way, I thought for sure that the spikes would have all hit me, but thankfully, most of the spikes missed, except for one of them, which ended up in my arm, causing pain to coarse through my entire arm as I felt dizzy.

"Gah…m-my arm…" I whimpered as Luana and Eevee rushed over to me.

"Oh no, Kellyn…this is bad! Eevee, do you know any moves that can help Kellyn out?" Luana asked as Eevee nodded.

Eevee quickly released a light orange dust on my entire body, causing the poisonous spike to vanish as my wound healed. The relief was short lived as the Arbok and Weezing unleashed a Sludge Bomb at me, though this time, all of us were able to dodge their moves without any problem. Seeing everything that took place, Pachirisu and Buneary headed over to us, with their energy coming back once more.

"Shame that Poison Sting didn't hit you in your neck or head, that would've leveled the playing field in my favor quite nicely." Kincaid said with a smirk as Luana and I ignored him.

_'__What a psycho…we have to take him down quickly…' _I thought to myself as Pachirisu moved closer to me.

"Pachirisu, stun those two Pokémon!" I said.

Pachirisu let off a surge of electricity, which paralyzed both Pokémon as they almost completely ceased movement. Luana and I made loops around the two Pokémon, slowly filling up their Friendship Meters and having Pachirisu stun them whenever they were close to breaking free. After what felt like several minutes of increasing the Friendship Meters for the Pokémon, I decided to see what percentage they were at. To my surprise, I saw that the Weezing's was at thirty six percent while Arbok's was close to forty three percent. Pachirisu soon got tired and went off to the side, though Kincaid on the other hand continued to become more angry by the second, so Luana and I made sure to make loops a bit faster before the Pokémon broke free from paralysis.

"I can't lose to garbage like you two…that would make me as worthless as you two." Kincaid said.

"Talk all you want Kincaid, we haven't lost to you once!" Luana said.

"That may be so, but you're in for a nasty surprise soon enough, Luana and Kellyn." Kincaid said with hatred in his voice.

After several seconds, both Weezing and Arbok managed to move once more, with the Weezing letting out a thick smog, covering the room as we struggled to see anything. Our Partner Pokémon stayed close to us just like Luana and I were doing. We held each other and cautiously moved around the room, heading towards the back specifically so that we didn't make any noise that could alert either Kincaid or his Pokémon to our location. Compared to the first time, Weezing's smog didn't last long, though I dreaded thinking about if Kincaid was anywhere near us despite Luana and I walking near the doorway. Once the fog dissipated, we saw Kincaid and his Pokémon in the far corner of the room, prompting him to give us a glare as he stepped forward to go to his original position.

"Don't worry Kellyn, we're going to take Kincaid down…just a little bit more!" Luana said as we made loops around the two Pokémon.

"That's right, we just have to be on guard even when we manage to defeat him. He's just as creepy as Blake Hall is." I said.

"Heh, thank you for such flattering words." Kincaid said.

Arbok let out a low hiss before it slithered forward, its head dipping a bit low in an attempt to intimidate us. Luana and I spread apart a few feet so that we could distance ourselves when the Arbok attacked, with my main concern being that I didn't want Luana or our Pokémon to get harmed.

"I don't even want to imagine what it's going to do next." I muttered.

"I know, we just have to wait and see, stay on your toes as always." Luana said.

Arbok let out a hiss and flicked its tongue out as its mouth started to drip an intense yellow, oozing out onto the floor. The Pokémon rushed forward with its fangs bared in an attempt to bite me, though I managed to evade it and thought I was in the clear, the Arbok wrapped its tail around me in a split second, rendering me unable to move as my entire body was being constricted.

"Ahahaha, see how easy that was?! I knew I'd finally get a chance to crush you! I've been wanting to do this since the Cargo Ship incident…" Kincaid said as Luana and our Pokémon immediately rushed over to me.


	70. Chapter 70: Inside Altru Tower: Part 11

**A/N: I still don't own Pokemon, I just play the games!**

**A/N: Sorry everyone, I just had to pull a fast one, this is NOT the final chapter! I hope you all enjoy this chapter though!**

Chapter 70: Inside Altru Tower: Part 11

"C'mon everyone, attack that Arbok!" Luana said as I began struggling to breathe.

Eevee, Buneary and Pachirisu immediately attacked the Arbok and struck it in its head, which was just enough for it to loosen its grip on me as it momentarily fell to the floor. The Arbok, not wanting to receive another blow, slithered back over to Weezing and Kincaid as he chuckled to himself.

"Well now, how did that feel, Kellyn? Was almost being squeezed to death enjoyable or what?" Kincaid teased as I managed to catch my breath.

"K-Kincaid…you're as psychotic as you always were…" I said as Kincaid's smile turned into a frown.

"That's not a nice thing to say, Kellyn. You know I'll just up the ante until you both collapse." Kincaid said as he smiled once more.

Luana paid Kincaid no attention as she made loops around the Weezing, while I did the same with Kincaid's Arbok. The two Pokémon became frustrated and moved forward, with Weezing and Arbok attempting to splash us with oozing puddles of poison.

"Luana…I think we should wait until Pachirisu gets his energy back and then perform a combined attack with Eevee and Buneary's help. Kincaid is too dangerous and we both know what he's capable of." I said as Luana nodded.

"That's a good idea, these two Pokémon are especially dangerous, just like he is. Let's be cautious." Luana said as Kincaid studied us closely.

_'__Kincaid…he's always been a sneaky one but knowing what he'll do with us if we lose to him…just thinking about that would be…terrifying.' _I thought to myself.

"The two of you…Kellyn and Luana, you've come a far way up to this tower. However…I'll make sure you two don't come out of this room alive. I will say though, if I knew how much of a pain you'd be, Kellyn, then I would have killed you since Ranger School." Kincaid said.

"We haven't lost yet and we're not losing to scum like you!" I said as Weezing floated forward.

"That's what you think." Kincaid said as Weezing prepared to launch another Sludge Bomb, only for Buneary to kick it hard and send it flying towards the Arbok.

Luana and I continued our onslaught of making loops around both Pokémon, doing our best to make sure Kincaid didn't win no matter the circumstances. I saw that the Friendship Meters for the Pokémon steadily rose, though the Arbok's eyes glowed a bright yellow, paralyzing my arms and feet as they went numb.

"Kellyn! Gah, that Arbok using Glare was sneaky…" Luana said as Pachirisu came over to us.

Despite me being unable to move, I did my best to shake off the paralysis I was facing.

"S-sorry Luana…I'm trying as best as I can…" I said through clenched teeth.

"That's okay Kellyn, I'll protect you until the paralysis is gone!" Luana said as she stood in front of me.

"T-thank you, P-Pachirisu, stun those two…" I said as Pachirisu unleashed a wave of electricity.

The Arbok and Weezing were paralyzed as Kincaid furrowed his eyebrows in a rage and after a few seconds, my paralysis wore off as I was able to move again, thanks to the Arbok being unable to move.  
"H-how are you better already?! You should have stayed paralyzed!" Kincaid screeched.

"Simple, that Arbok isn't able to continue glaring at Kellyn if it's completely paralyzed." Luana said as we continued to make loops around the two Pokémon.

This went on for several seconds and the Arbok's Friendship Meter soon reached seventy percent, while Weezing's got up to fifty percent. Luana and I continued this as a process, where the two of us would stun the Pokémon whenever they broke free from paralysis, not wanting to give them a chance to attack.

A few minutes later, the Arbok was captured and we were glad when we saw it move over to the side, though we were still surprised from the outcome as the Weezing's Friendship Meter reached sixty five percent and went up dreadfully slow after that. Pachirisu eventually got tired and Buneary stepped forward to do a little dance, boosting the strength of Luana's Capture Styler while I simultaneously charged her Styler up to the second stage. Weezing began to shake slightly, which made me nervous as it would most likely retaliate with a Sludge Bomb once it was able to completely move.

"Luana, that Weezing's about to start moving again, you know what to do!" I said as Luana nodded and made loops around the Pokémon.

Luana's Capture Line, which was the red, blue and yellow stripes we had grown accustomed to seeing, was moving quick as she did the best she could to increase the Friendship Meter. Weezing soon broke free from paralysis and started to move again, with its Friendship Meter now being around eighty percent. I watched Kincaid looking as if he was about to lose his mind even more than he already had. The man looked livid as he angrily looked at the now captured Arbok, which made the Pokémon immediately lower its head to avoid his glare.

Weezing acted quickly by launching a cloud of poison gas at us, thankfully, it wasn't too hard to avoid compared to its smog or puddles. I took over for Luana so she could have a breather along with Buneary, who was tired as well. Kincaid furiously typed on his Miniremo and the Weezing soon came forward and spat a thick purple mud at me. Unlike what happened with Toxicroak, I didn't slip on the mud puddle and instead skirted around it, focusing on making loops around the Weezing, which attacked again with another mud puddle. Seeing that I was still undeterred, Kincaid smirked before inputting another command as I braced myself for whatever attack was going to come next. The Weezing quickly rose above me and released a fast moving toxic cloud heading towards Luana, who was only five feet away from me. Of course, Luana dodged the cloud without any problem, but my heart nearly sank when I saw the Weezing floating towards us with a scowl on its face. Luana and I immediately got Eevee into position to help us with the Pokémon, especially because of how much in danger Luana could be in, since Weezing was a bit closer to her than to me.

_'__Okay Kellyn…just distract the Weezing or get Eevee to attack it. I'm too far away from Luana to pull her out of harm's way and I'd feel ashamed of myself if she got hurt on behalf_ _of me trying anything stupid._' I thought to myself as Eevee headed over to my side slowly, with the Weezing keeping a close eye on me.

"Hey, Weezing, don't let your eyes off of either of them! It's a trick!" Kincaid yelled as the Weezing looked at Luana and I, unsure of what to make of the situation.

"Don't listen to him Weezing, focus on me, alright?" I asked as the Weezing, despite still being mind controlled, obediently followed as I led it away from Luana.

I smirked at Kincaid and released my Capture Line, intent on capturing the Weezing without Luana getting injured. Kincaid realized what I was doing and angrily typed on his Miniremo, making the Weezing ignore me and go back towards Luana. The Weezing spat out a small black ball in Luana's direction, though she managed to evade it just in time. The small black ball erupted and released a ton of black smoke near where Luana was previously standing, prompting the Pokémon looked around in a daze as Kincaid yelled with anger at the Weezing.

_'__Luana…I'm glad you're safe. Now it's time for us to capture this Weezing and get Kincaid!' _I thought to myself as Eevee got into position.

"Alright, Eevee, use Shadow Ball on that Weezing!" I said as Eevee fired a Shadow Ball at Weezing, giving it a direct hit as it got sent flying backwards.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, I proceeded to continue the capture process as the Friendship Meter increased, though after some time, it didn't go up at all, which confused me.

"Heh, if you're going to pull off a face like that, I might as well tell you the reason you're struggling to capture Weezing. The Ultimate Machine…it's slowly getting stronger as time goes on. In fact, you two won't even be able to beat the boss's Pokémon if you reach him. I fully intend on killing you both." Kincaid said.

"That's not going to happen Kincaid, you've lost every encounter before you fled!" I said as Kincaid grimaced.

Kincaid, rather than saying anything, decided to simply watch me as I continued making loops around Weezing. The Friendship Meter was now beginning to increase at a steadier pace, which made me relieved even as the Pokémon prepared to launch another attack.

Weezing fired a Smokescreen at me, which I barely managed to notice in time as I became shrouded in black mist and started to cough. Covering my mouth and nose and then going on to observe any visibility I may have, I realized to my horror that compared to the previous smokescreen, this one was nearly impossible for me to see in. Even as I ran towards where I last saw Luana, I realized that I couldn't see her at all and I began to worry. I nearly screamed when I heard someone approaching, though I quickly saw that it was Luana as my heart rate went back down to normal.

"Don't panic Kellyn, I'm getting you out of here." Luana said through her covered mouth as she took my hand.

Luana and I went through the dense mist and after some time, we found ourselves free and on the other side of the room. Our Partner Pokémon were about twenty feet away and they soon spotted us, quickly heading over as the smoke dissipated, revealing Kincaid with a twisted grin on his face and the Weezing carefully watching us from their initial position.

"T-thank you Luana…you saved me." I said.

"Anything for you Kellyn, now let's take out Kincaid!" Luana said as I continued making loops around the Weezing.

Thankfully, the Weezing's Friendship Meter didn't decrease too much due to me not making enough loops, it only did so slightly, luckily enough. Pachirisu, on my command, used Thunderbolt on the Weezing, knocking it backwards as it also became paralyzed. I fully used the situation to my advantage as I made loops around the Pokémon and captured it after what felt like hours. The Arbok and Weezing were now successfully captured, though the two of them stayed in the corner and weren't released like so many of the other Pokémon previously were.

"L-Luana, what's going on?" I asked as Kincaid stared at us from across the room.

"I…I don't know, I have a feeling Kincaid has something awful up his sleeve." Luana said as Kincaid snickered, prompting Luana and I to look at one another with expressions of horror and bewilderment.

_'__Is…is it possible that Kincaid has another Pokémon lying in wait? Or is Luana's intuition right? I mean…she's never been wrong before, so it's possible he somehow ended up pulling a fast one on us…which means we're in for another round…' _I thought to myself as Kincaid cackled like a mad man.

"You two really thought you'd beat me that easily? Time to end this, with me as the victor!" Kincaid said as the three monitors shattered.

We both covered our faces instantly from any debris and I soon felt a chill, causing me to shiver violently, while Luana and our Partner Pokémon did the same. Looking around, I saw nothing out of the ordinary aside from the broken glass around Kincaid. However, it became apparent that there was in fact, a Pokémon that was floating by the second in command, almost as if it was sizing us up. I was stunned to see a Rotom impatiently zigzagging around Kincaid and its presence, albeit a small one, was enough to make the Arbok and Weezing flee, giving us a red flag that something was very wrong. I hadn't done much research into Rotom as a student in Ranger School, but the expression on Luana's face said it all.

"Kellyn, some quick advice before this Rotom comes at us. Most Rotom are known for being playful, though it comes off as malicious. However…their ability to possess certain machines makes them rather formidable. Even if we're not going to face it off that way, its electricity is a serious problem." Luana said as Kincaid slowly nodded.

"That's right, your little girlfriend is more smarter than I thought. I hope you two will last long enough against Rotom here." Kincaid said as Rotom dashed forward, a sadistic grin plastered on its face.

Rotom started off by surrounding itself with a barrier, which were two floating orbs of electricity crackling a bright blue. Luana made loops around Rotom, taking care to avoid hitting its barrier as it moved around at a more simpler pace. Eventually, Rotom's barrier faded and it dashed around the room, breaking Luana's Capture Line as its orange body began to glow yellow. The swift Pokémon then unleashed a Shadow Ball at us, which Eevee managed to counter with a Shadow Ball of her own. The two attacks collided, causing a plume of smoke to fill the room, which soon stopped as we could see once more.

"Okay…Eevee, Buneary, stay back for now in case Rotom tries an electric move." I said as the two Pokémon went off to the side, while Pachirisu stood by us.

Rotom, upon seeing Pachirisu, immediately used Thunder Wave on him in an attempt to cease his movements. However, Pachirisu shrugged off the attack instantly, surprising the Rotom as its face contorted into one of anger.

"Pachirisu, stun that Rotom!" Luana said as Pachirisu used Thunder Wave on the Rotom, stunning it successfully as it became completely paralyzed.

Luana continued her process of making loops around the Rotom and I helped out by increasing her Capture Styler to the second stage. After a dozen loops were made, Rotom tried to break free from paralysis, though Pachirisu quickly stunned it before it could do so. This went on for several minutes before Pachirisu got tired and at this point, the Rotom's Friendship Meter was at twenty six percent. A few loops later, Rotom managed to move again and became irritated, striking the ground around it with several Shadow Balls as it surrounded itself in a barrier once more, this time with four orbs of electricity. Unfortunately for Kincaid and Rotom, Luana wasn't going to be deterred and she continued to make loops around the Rotom, making Kincaid type in a command on his Miniremo. Soon enough, Rotom began to start zigzagging once more and flashed yellow before it launched a fierce purple wind at us.

"L-Luana, w-we're not going to get knocked back! We…we have to stay strong through this!" I said as the powerful move was slowly pushing me backwards.

After fighting the purple wind for several seconds, the Rotom stopped its attack. Recovering quickly, I made loops around the Pokémon as Luana helped me with charging up my Styler, much to the annoyance of Kincaid.

"Keep up the good work Kellyn, make sure you watch yourself around that Rotom!" Luana said.

"I'll be as careful as can be, make sure you do the same!" I said as Rotom began to charge up electricity.

_'__Careful Kellyn, this Rotom is too dangerous of a Pokémon to take lightly.' _I thought to myself as Rotom began to glow a bright yellow.

Rotom unleashed a surge of electricity, which blinded me and forced me to shield my eyes. Even as my eyes were closed, I could still see a faint yellow because of the sheer intensity. After a couple of seconds, the Rotom's powerful attack stopped and I opened my eyes once more. The Rotom in fact, didn't try to attack us as I thought but instead, it looked like it was warning us to back off. No less than ten feet from me was an impact from what I assumed was a Thunderbolt, with Kincaid carefully observing me while Luana and Eevee got ready to launch an attack of their own.

"Eevee, use Shadow Ball on that Rotom!" Luana said as Eevee hit the Rotom hard and managed to daze it.

Stunned that Luana and I were able to survive such an attack from Rotom, I continued with making loops as I did previously. Around ten or so loops, Rotom ended up making contact with my Capture Line, breaking it as it fired off a Shadow Ball of its own, which Eevee countered before it got near to Luana or I. The result was a massive cloud of smoke which soon cleared up after a few seconds. Rotom merely levitated in the air as it awaited our next move, while we did the same with anticipation.

"What's wrong you two? Not going to attack or try capturing Rotom?" Kincaid asked.

_'__Kincaid…he's just planning to trick us as always. Pachirisu looks like he has energy again, I'll go ahead and have him stun Rotom.' _I thought to myself as I motioned for Pachirisu to come closer, which he immediately did.

"Alright Pachirisu, go ahead and paralyze that Rotom!" I said as Pachirisu stunned the fast Pokémon, successfully rendering it unable to move.

I successfully made loops around the Rotom, making sure that Pachirisu was stunning it whenever it tried to break free from paralysis. At this point, Rotom's Friendship Meter was around thirty percent before Pachirisu became tired and went off to the side to rest. Acting quickly, I had Buneary come close as she did a little dance to boost the strength of my Styler, while Luana went ahead and charged my Capture Line to its second stage for additional help. As for Kincaid, he was pacing back and forth, fuming with unbelievable rage, however, I made sure to not pay much attention to Kincaid, as focusing on Rotom was key, especially considering the danger it posed to us. By the time Buneary's Poké Assist had ended, Rotom's Friendship Meter was fifty five percent as she went over to Pachirisu and at this time, Rotom's paralysis wore off as it looked at us with an enraged expression.

Rotom then zipped around as Kincaid typed on his Miniremo, the worst part being that we had no idea what attack he'd have Rotom use on us. Unfortunately, Rotom launched another Ominous Wind, which all of us braced for, even as we were getting pushed back little by little. When the Pokémon's attack lasted a full minute without any of us getting hurt, the Rotom decided to cease the attack before it began to charge up another Shadow Ball, this one however, was different…around the Rotom were four purple flames, each of them circling around it swiftly. Rotom quickly launched the Shadow Ball, but not at me or Luana, instead, it aimed for Pachirisu and Buneary, who were resting a few feet away from me. Knowing that Buneary and Pachirisu couldn't afford to take the attack in their state, Luana and I rushed over to them as fast as we could.

I saw the move heading right for our Partner Pokémon and dove right in front of it, taking a hard hit to my chest as I flew over our exhausted Pokémon and tumbled to the ground. Eevee and Luana reached me in seconds as I keeled over in pain, all while Kincaid laughed at my agony.

"What's the matter Kellyn? Showing love to your Partner Pokémon before Blake ends up controlling them? That's cute, but it won't matter anyway." Kincaid said as Eevee growled at the Rotom.

"Oh no…no…Kellyn, don't…don't worry, you'll be just fine." Luana said.  
Despite the pain I was feeling, I opened my eyes to see Eevee sparring against the Rotom. Luana checked me for any wounds as she looked a few times between me and Kincaid, the wound itself was small, but the pain was absolutely excruciating, as if someone slammed a sledgehammer into the right side of my chest. Eevee jumped up and gave the Rotom a powerful Headbutt, making it go flying near Kincaid, who began to scream at it to get up. I began to cough up blood, which Luana quickly wiped with her jacket as Eevee came over to us. Eevee took one look at me and could tell I wasn't doing so good, so she went ahead and released a bright orange dust around my wound just like she had done previously. The wound, which was beginning to turn purple, soon changed color and quickly faded away, with the pain subsiding as well.

"How are you feeling Kellyn?" Luana asked as I felt where my wound once was.

"It's as if I was never hurt to begin with, now let's finish Kincaid off!" I said as Luana helped me back up.

Kincaid had a look of hatred plastered across his face when he saw me standing up and looked as if he was ready to strangle me with his bare hands. Rotom, which was just beginning to come out of its daze from being hit, slowly levitated back up as Luana took over and made loops around it quickly. I went ahead and assisted Luana by charging her Styler to its second stage while I looked at Pachirisu and Buneary, who were both still recovering as Eevee also went next to them so she could rest. Despite the intense fight we were in, I couldn't help but smile…after all, they weren't hurt by Rotom's attack. I glanced at the Rotom's Friendship Meter, which had risen rather quickly at seventy percent, though I began to tremble as Rotom flashed a grin. The Pokémon immediately zigzagged around the room, making contact with Luana's Capture Line and breaking it. More determined than ever, Luana continued to make loops around the Rotom even as it continued moving around.

Once again, the Rotom stopped moving and charged up electricity, which it soon shot out as its Discharge spread over the entire room, making all of us shield ourselves due to its intensity. The Rotom's attack managed to scorch the floor in several different spots, though none of the moves hit us or our Pokémon, much to Kincaid's annoyance.

"Rotom, it's time to end this. Use Thunderbolt on Kellyn, now." Kincaid said as Rotom, even in its mind controlled state, hesitated.

_'__Rotom…fight the power the Shadow Crystal and the Miniremo have over you. Otherwise you'll kill us without even knowing it.'_ I thought to myself as Kincaid soon became irate.

"What are you waiting around for?! Go and use Thunderbolt on that Ranger right now! I have some plans for that girl once I'm through with him. Hurry it up!" Kincaid yelled as Rotom once again hesitated.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see all of our Partner Pokémon begin to get back up, looking ready to help out as best as they could. What worried me was that we knew exactly what Rotom would do if the Shadow Crystal's power, or Kincaid's Miniremo, ended up forcing the Pokémon to kill any of us. As expected, Luana didn't cease with making loops around Rotom as the Pokémon continued to resist, with Kincaid increasingly getting annoyed as he began incoherently yelling at Rotom.

"Luana, our Pokémon look like they're able to use their assists again. How about we go ahead and finished this up to show Kincaid what we're made of?" I asked as Luana grinned.

"I like the sound of that, let's do it!" Luana said as our Pokémon bounded forward.

"Pachirisu, stun that Rotom!" I said as Kincaid began typing something else on his Miniremo, only for Eevee to knock the Miniremo aside with a Shadow Ball.

Pachirisu then stunned the Rotom, making it cease movement as Luana made loops around the Pokémon. The Friendship Meter on the Rotom steadily began to increase, reaching around eight five percent as Kincaid started to panic. I quickly charged up Luana's Capture Styler to its second stage as she continued to make loops around the Pokémon, after more than three dozen loops with the Rotom not breaking free from paralysis, it was finally captured. With the tense and chaotic battle finished, along with the room being heavily damaged, Kincaid's Miniremo fizzled and let out a plume of smoke. Rotom, free of mind control, looked around in surprise at the damage that was around it as Kincaid attempted to flee.

"You're not getting away this time Kincaid!" Luana said as Rotom turned towards Kincaid and zipped in front of him, who at this point was a terrified mess.

"Rotom, get out of my face!" Kincaid said as Rotom used Thunder Wave on Kincaid.

Luana and I rushed over to the second in command who was absolutely enraged despite the paralysis he was undergoing. The two of us looked at the Rotom which certainly was very ashamed of itself, though we knew that it didn't attack us of its own free will.

"Don't you worry Rotom, we know you didn't mean to attack us. Thanks for stopping Kincaid." I said as the Rotom flashed a grin before zipping out of the room.


	71. Chapter 71: The Final Fight: Part 1

**A/N: Our two beloved heroes face off against the boss of Team Dim Sun! Will they be victorious, or will darkness reign over Almia?**

**A/N: Final Chapter will be uploaded on the 28th!**

Chapter 71: The Final Fight: Part 1

Just as we were about to call Marcus, Barlow teleported in front of us, giving Luana and I a serious startle.

"Wow…being teleported like that is weird…Kellyn, Luana, you guys did it! Awesome work on capturing Kincaid!" Barlow said as he tied up Kincaid, who was beginning to struggle out of paralysis.

"Y-you two…I…I'm astonished scum like you…m-managed to b-beat me. Blake will…defeat you two." Kincaid said with a maniacal grin.

"He won't, you were a serious threat to Almia and thanks to our Pokémon and Rotom, we stopped you. We're going to head up there and stop him from trying to rule over Almia." I said.

"S-say what you will…I h-hope the boss…kills you both. I'll b-be happy to know of your deaths." Kincaid said as Barlow placed a handkerchief around Kincaid's mouth, muffling him.

"That's enough out of you Kincaid, Espeon will make sure you don't try anything once we go to Almia's Prison. Kellyn, Luana, you're almost done with taking down Team Dim Sun once and for all. The two of you are accomplished Top Rangers and I know that neither of you are going to let Blake Hall win!" Barlow said as we both grinned.

"Thank you Barlow, Kincaid was a tough opponent to take down, but it's all taken care of." I said.

"Now the only thing left to do is stop Blake Hall!" Luana said as Barlow grinned while Kincaid mumbled incoherently.

"That's right, best of luck you two, you'll make us all proud." Barlow said as he and Kincaid teleported away.

"Now that that's done with, it's time for us to join Keith, Wendy and Sven on the top floor." I said as the back wall shifted and moved to the right, revealing a darkened staircase.

"The final battle…let's do this and bring peace to Almia before anyone else gets hurt." Luana said as we ran up the staircase with our Pokémon following.

"Definitely…even though the battle won't be easy, it's something that we have to do!" I said.

Luana and I continued our way up the staircase, though it was dark, we could still manage to traverse upwards as we soon came to the doorway leading to the fiftieth ninth floor.

"Kellyn, just one more floor to go…then we'll be another floor closer to Blake Hall…" Luana said as I opened the door.

The fifty ninth floor was a wide open area with glass all around, showing the dark night sky and a number of Pokémon flying around. There were several shelves mounted on the glass and a dozen computers and other equipment on top of the shelves as well. The only other people on the floor with us were a trio of scientists in the middle of the room, who were tinkering with five Miniremos and paid us no attention. Four of the Miniremos were a dark gray, while the one in the center was as black as the night sky.

"We've just got a little farther to go, let's check our Pokémon before heading up!" I said as we paused to examine Pachirisu, Buneary and Eevee.

"Hmmm, they don't look hurt at all. Good thing too, I wouldn't want them to get injured considering who we're going up against." Luana said.

"Exactly, now we just have to be as calm as we can going to the rooftop, Blake Hall is unlike anyone we've faced, so let's give it our all!" I said.

Luana and I moved carefully around the room as we did our best to avoid being spotted by the scientists, who were too preoccupied with examining and working on the Miniremos to notice us. Two of the men had black hair, while one of them had brown hair along with a thin mustache.

"Alright, so we have this black Miniremo with us, but now what?" One of the men asked.

"How about we see how it works, for starters?" Another scientist questioned.

"Well guys, Mr. Hall only told us to examine it for any signs of strange or unusual activity, but this black Miniremo appears to be inactive." The third mustachioed scientist said as we continued our way through the room.

'_Alright…easy does it, I'll do my best to be as quiet as possible. I just hope that the men don't spot us…if they do, then we'll be slowed down._' I thought to myself.

Luana and I continued making our way around the room while the scientists conversed with one another. Picking up little pieces of their conversation made me realized that just like Isaac, they were also tricked by Team Dim Sun's crooked admins.

"You know guys…I feel like what we're doing…isn't right. I mean, the fact that Mr. Hall is having us examine these Miniremos is odd, but…the Pokémon around the tower and even the grunts are acting odd." The second scientist said.

"I'm glad that these guys are concerned compared to some of the others we've encountered. The fact that the Shadow Crystal is impacting both people and Pokémon means we need to act fast." I said as Luana nodded.

"Exactly, it's a shame that these scientists have been tricked, it reminds me of Isaac." Luana said.

"You're right, it's pretty similar to Isaac's situation…I'm glad we made it up here…we'll be fighting on behalf of everyone all around Almia. Let's go and stop Blake Hall!" I said as we made our way to the staircase at the end of the room.

As we were about to head up the staircase, we heard something to our left and turned, seeing Keith flying by, followed by Wendy, with the powerful wings of the Staraptor getting the attention of the scientists.

"Woah, did you guys see those people on top of those Staraptors?" A scientist asked.

"I certainly did! In fact…they looked like Rangers…" One of the men said.

"They have to be Rangers, no one else would be so close to the tower! Things must be getting very serious if they're near the rooftop. They'll be able to stop Hall's tyranny, let's bail!" The mustachioed scientist said as he and his coworkers ran for the exit.

"Keith, Sven and Wendy are there and they'll need our help soon enough, let's put an end to this chaos!" I said as Luana and I ran up the staircase.

After a minute or so of racing up the steps, Luana and I made it to the rooftop, which was just as massive as the last floor we were on. Looking around us, we could see a dark and ominous cloud swirling around the entire rooftop, stretching up high into the sky…towards the very end of the rooftop was Blake Hall with Wheeler by his side. Blake Hall and Wheeler had their backs to us and were admiring the Shadow Crystal, which was a ghastly purple color that was emanating even though both men were about ten feet from the massive crystal.

There were a total of four large energy circuits, two on the left and the right which were about the size of Blake. I could see Sven, Keith and Wendy riding around on Staraptors high above the Shadow Crystal, along with some other Flying types which didn't appear to be influenced by the Shadow Crystal, at least not yet. While Luana and I were about fifty feet from Hall, we could both still feel how tense the situation was…it felt as if we were being crushed by the negative energy Blake Hall and the Shadow Crystal were exuding.

Our Partner Pokémon on the other hand were shivering with determined expressions on their faces, signifying that they were ready to end Blake's tyranny once and for all. Luana and I took a deep breath and walked forward, though when we were halfway there, Wheeler turned around, appearing to be very shocked.

"B-b-boss, those two Top Rangers are here!" Wheeler said as Wendy quickly swooped by, followed by Sven.

"Don't forget about us! You two are finished!" Wendy said.

Wendy and Sven then maneuvered a bit closer to the Shadow Crystal, though still far out of reach for Wheeler or Blake to try anything. Keith on the other hand was doing damage control in case any Pokémon in the area attempted to attack them or us. As for Blake, he finally seemed to snap out of his trance and noticed what was going on around him, turning to face us with a grimace plastered on his face, filled with hatred as he took a step forward.

"Well now, it's about time you all came up here…after all I've done to be Almia's new ruler, I'm not going to be stopped by the five of you. But you know…this is a rather beautiful sight to see…isn't it?" Blake Hall asked as our Pokémon growled.

"Beautiful…this isn't beautiful…this is a nightmare for Almia!" Luana said in disbelief as Blake laughed.

"Hahah! A nightmare…young lady…you're absolutely correct…this certainly is a nightmare for all of you…but for me…this is a dream come true! After my idiotic father died, no one could foresee what I would do to help this company see its true potential! Duping people into working for Altru Inc. was my first step, the next step was to have Psychic types forcibly recondition them to become grunts and admins…from there, I was on my way to becoming the new ruler of Almia." Blake said.

"Y-you're sick…" I said as Blake chuckled.

"Say what you will of me…I'm not surprised to know that you two…Kellyn and Luana, got this far. But it doesn't matter…because it ends here, for the both of you." Blake said as Wheeler stepped forward with a large grin on his face.

"Heheh, boss, don't waste your words on these two lowlifes. In fact, let me handle them, I'll make them wish they never became Rangers!" Wheeler said as he retrieved a Miniremo from his purple suit jacket.

Wheeler's smile only seemed to increase as he typed in a command on the Miniremo. All of us braced ourselves for whatever Pokémon would be coming our way, though I soon felt an intense shiver up my spine. Appearing five feet in front of us was a Dusknoir, its eye glowing a deep red as the Pokémon's arms twitched repeatedly.

"Dusknoir is suffering horribly…let's help it out!" Luana said as I charged up her Capture Styler to its second stage.

After that was done, Luana then started the capturing process as she made loops around the Dusknoir, though it soon vanished.

"Pachirisu, go and stun that Dusknoir!" I said as Pachirisu unleashed a surge of electricity, revealing the Dusknoir's location as it materialized once more.

Luana flashed me a grin as she continued the capturing process, all the while, Sven, Wendy and Keith were beginning to deal with Pokémon that were starting to attack them.

"Eevee, use Shadow Ball to make those Flying types scatter!" Luana said as I heard the flapping of wings.

Looking up, I saw that Keith, Sven and Wendy were now fighting hard against various Flying types, such as Flygon, Crobat and Yanmega. Thanks to Luana and Eevee's intervention, the Shadow Ball made some of the Pokémon flee, while the remaining Pokémon left our trio of friends alone. Focusing my attention back to the Dusknoir, I saw that it was still paralyzed, though it was starting to break free from paralysis in no time.

"Pachirisu, hit that Dusknoir with a Thunderbolt!" I said as Pachirisu shocked the Dusknoir, sending it flying back as Wheeler's grin diminished.

"Oh my precious Dusknoir…you'll pay for what you did, Ranger!" Wheeler said as Luana had Buneary hop forward.

"Buneary, use Foresight on that Dusknoir so it doesn't try to vanish again!" Luana said as Buneary's eyes glowed a bright yellow, impacting the paralyzed Dusknoir.

Since Luana did good work on the Dusknoir and got its Friendship Meter up to ten percent, I decided to take over so she wouldn't get tired. As Luana charged up my Capture Styler, I could see the Pokémon flying overhead slowly dwindling in numbers as they were successfully starting to get captured, though Keith in particular was being bombarded by four Flygon.

"Buneary, try using Hi Jump Kick on those Flygon! Eevee, hit them with a Shadow Ball!" I said.

While I didn't know if Buneary could bound up high enough to reach the Flygon, I knew that there wasn't much of an option to wait, considering that the Flygon were continuously attacking Keith. Aside from Keith being swarmed, some Golbat and Crobat were after Sven and Wendy, meaning that any method we could use to make the mind controlled Pokémon scatter would be a good one.

In the few seconds it took for me to assess the situation with our friends, I saw that Pachirisu was in front of me, raring to go as the Dusknoir began trying to get out of its paralysis. Acting fast, I had Pachirisu stun the Dusknoir, much to the frustration of Wheeler, who had a look of hatred across his face as Blake watched me intently while I made loops around the Pokémon.

"Kellyn, your plan was great, it worked!" Luana said as I spotted the Flygon, Golbat and Crobat fleeing as Buneary plopped back down on the ground.

I felt a combination of relief and happiness from our Partner Pokémon being able to successfully launch an attack despite the circumstances and I continued to make loops around Dusknoir. Since I was fully intent on no one getting hurt, focusing on the Dusknoir was absolutely key in making sure that didn't happen. Eventually, the Dusknoir broke free from paralysis after its Friendship Meter rose to around fifteen percent and it soon levitated a few feet more into the air. The Dusknoir's arms then began to turn a dark black, with its massive hands soon doing the same.

"Okay Pachirisu, let's use Thundershock!" I said.

Before Pachirisu was able to move, Blake rushed over to Wheeler's Miniremo and pushed him aside as he took over. In a split second, Dusknoir ceased its attack and rushed forward, being unable to vanish thanks to Buneary's Foresight. To my utter horror, one of Dusknoir's hands was around my neck as I began getting choked and started gasping for air. I could hear the terrified yelling of everyone, even Wheeler, who began to plead with his boss incoherently. Without any hesitation, Luana bounded over to the Dusknoir and had Eevee make short work of its assault with a Shadow Ball, hitting the Pokémon hard as it stumbled backwards.

As I struggled to breathe once more, I saw Luana checking me for any bruising around my neck. To our relief, there wasn't any major harm done and I was about to get back up to continue my attempt at capturing the Dusknoir, though Luana quickly shook her head and stood over me as she made loops around the Pokémon. Even though I was still slowly regaining my usual way of breathing, I managed to charge Luana's Capture Styler to its second stage so she wouldn't have a hard time with raising Dusknoir's Friendship Meter. Seeing that I wasn't dead infuriated Blake Hall and the man let out an inhuman scream, scaring Wheeler, who was busy trying to get Dusknoir to start moving again.

"I can't believe it! That foolish Dusknoir has failed at taking at your life… I was hoping to have it take care of you and then focus on that girl over there…after that… nothing will stand in my way and the Rangers won't be our problem once that's the case." Blake said as I recovered from the shock of being attacked and stood back up.

Despite Blake's outburst, we knew that we had to shrug it off as Luana continued making loops around Dusknoir, which was now beginning to sluggishly start to move. With Pachirisu still not exhausted, I knew that paralyzing Dusknoir would need to be done quickly before he got tired…or before the ghost Pokémon tried attacking again.

"Pachirisu, let's follow up on our attack!" I said as Pachirisu hit Dusknoir with a powerful Thundershock, managing to injure the Pokémon and paralyze it.

Taking advantage of the situation, Luana made a dozen of fast loops as she steadily increased the Friendship Meter on the Dusknoir to twenty three percent. Wheeler, in a fit of rage, began to type on the Miniremo to no avail, though Dusknoir's arms were starting to move again. I soon took over for Luana since I was feeling better than before and all of our Partner Pokémon came forward to assist as Wheeler snickered.

"You two aren't going to win this fight. It's best for you to just give up now." Wheeler said as I continued making loops around Dusknoir.

Compared to earlier, the tense atmosphere we were feeling earlier was no longer there and I felt a bit more courageous as I glared at Wheeler. The man was stunned into silence as I dutifully increased the Dusknoir's Friendship Meter, doing my best to keep my composure, even as Dusknoir's paralysis wore off.

As I was about to have Eevee attack the Dusknoir, it soon let out a horrifying screech as the mouth on its stomach opened up and it began to charge up what I could only imagine was a fierce attack.

"Eevee, Pachirisu and Buneary, strike at that Dusknoir, now!" Luana and I shouted as our Pokémon launched their most powerful moves at the Dusknoir, with the Pokémon launching what looked like a giant Shadow Ball.

Our Pokémon's moves made an impact with the move and the result was a massive cloud of smoke that rendered us unable to see. Looking to my left, I saw the unmistakable shadow of Dusknoir with its body glowing a ominous purple as it loomed over me.


	72. Chapter 72: The Final Fight: Part 2

**A/N: Decided to do the final battle in a separate chapter from this one. I want to really capture the story well and make sure that people, as well as myself, are happy with it.**

Chapter 72: The Final Fight: Part 2

_'__Dusknoir…Dusknoir's slowly losing control, just like Wheeler is. I'm not even going to think of taking it head on without knowing if Luana and our Pokémon are safe first.' _I thought to myself as I saw the Dusknoir charging up a move from its arms.

I moved quickly and covered my mouth with one of my hands so I didn't give away my position, with my other hand, I tried my best to clear the dust, as the cloud of smoke limited how far I was able to see, which was only around five feet in front of me. Thankfully, the smoke began to dissipate right as visibility returned to normal once more, though I turned around to see Dusknoir launching a Shadow Ball at me. I acted swiftly and dodged the attack in the nick of time, barely avoiding a direct hit, which would have seriously injured or killed me. I saw Luana and our Partner Pokémon a few feet away, with all of them turning to the noise as they ran to me. Pachirisu on the other hand used Thundershock on Dusknoir, hitting it hard as Blake yelled in rage.

"What did I tell you Wheeler? Let's say you move aside so I can take out these Rangers, what do you say?" Blake asked as Luana made loops around the Dusknoir.

"T-they've ruined your plans sir but…killing them? The two of them…they're young individuals, let's not do anything like that!" Wheeler pleaded as Blake sneered.

"What?! Why not? They've been nothing but trouble for Team Dim Sun! I need to have total control over Almia, no matter what the cost and these two are in the way of that! Keep it up Wheeler, and you'll no longer be an asset to me, but a liability...do as you're told." Blake said as Wheeler silently typed in a command on the Miniremo.

"Y-yes sir…right away." Wheeler said.

Dusknoir soon recovered from the blow Pachirisu dealt it and hovered back over to where Wheeler and Blake were. Looking at Dusknoir's Friendship Meter on my Styler, I saw that it had already risen to thirty eight percent, which was a good sign considering what Blake Hall was going to force Wheeler to do, but it also meant we had to be quick. Taking a glance at the two men, I saw them bickering once more and I got Pachirisu ready to stun the Dusknoir.

"Pachirisu, Thunder Wave!" I said as Pachirisu shocked the Dusknoir and rendered it immobile.

"Gah! Wheeler you idiot, you took too long to enter the command in! Enough hesitation, hurry up and get on with it!" Blake shouted.

"B-but sir, the Dusknoir isn't able to move now!" Wheeler said as Blake furrowed his eyebrows.

"Quiet! I'm aware of that, to make matters worse, it's because you distracted me from the get-go!" Blake said as I took over for Luana and made loops around Dusknoir.

The entire situation was nerve wracking to say the least…but I know that if I didn't have Luana or our Partner Pokémon by our side then the tense atmosphere would have done me in. I vigilantly made loops around Dusknoir and Luana continued to have Pachirisu stun it every time it made an effort to break free from paralysis. In between making loops around the Dusknoir, I would periodically look up to make sure Keith, Sven and Wendy weren't in any trouble. Even though they weren't hurt or anything of the sort, the mind-controlled Pokémon were certainly giving them some complications by flying close to them.

"Eevee, distract those airborne Pokémon with a few Shadow Balls!" I said as I made loops around Dusknoir.

From behind me, I could hear Shadow Ball after Shadow Ball being fired as Luana got Eevee to assist our friends. Blake on the other hand was beginning to lose it as he shot a fierce glare at me and Luana while I made sure to do my best on increasing Dusknoir's Friendship Meter.

"Luana, while this fight is going to be tough, we'll still be able to handle this Dusknoir without any problems, we just have to keep doing our best. Thanks for having Eevee focus on making sure everyone's safe." I said.

"Not a problem, they have a battle that's far more problematic than ours! Besides, we took Kincaid down after several encounters, we got this!" Luana said.

After a while of me making loops, Luana soon took over and made loops around Dusknoir, increasing its Friendship Meter to fifty three percent already.

"I must hand it to a pair lowly Rangers like you two, I'm still astonished you managed to beat my second in command. After everything he's done, from betraying the Ranger School to almost killing the both of you many times, you still managed to be victorious over him in the end." Blake said as Wheeler turned to him.

"B-but…boss, I thought I was your second in command! What about everything I've done for you?" Wheeler asked.

"Hah, everything that you've done for me? You buffoon, you never were the second in command or a boss to any of these people, you were just a silly little man who followed me and did my dirty work that was left behind." Blake said as he shocked Wheeler, with the man's expression turning to one of sadness.

Wheeler turned away from Blake, nearly on the verge of tears after hearing what Blake had to say about him. However, as the Dusknoir began to break free from paralysis, I noticed how odd the situation felt as my heart began to start pounding, almost as if it would burst out of my chest. Right away, I understood why I had this feeling as Wheeler was pushed hard by Blake, with the frail man losing his balance and tumbling towards the edge.

Wheeler did his best to avoid falling off the rooftop and was teetering on one foot, his screaming and pleading filling my ears as Blake heartlessly took control of the Miniremo. Without any hesitation, I ran over to Wheeler with the intent to help, though Dusknoir swiftly moved in front of me, blocking my attempt of any rescue.

"Pachirisu, stun this Dusknoir!" I shouted as Pachirisu quickly shocked Dusknoir, making it cease movement entirely.

With my way now unobstructed, I raced over to Wheeler as Blake looked at me for a split second, showing no emotion even as Wheeler began to wobble more as he couldn't maintain his footing.

"R-R-Rangers…please, help me!" Wheeler said as I came within a few steps from him.

"I got you, you'll be just fine!" I said as I reached forward to take Wheeler's hand.

In those few seconds before grabbing Wheeler's hand, I was cautious of getting too close to him, as I felt that he would try to pull me in order to hoist himself up. However, I knew that any hesitation, even for a second, could potentially lead to Wheeler falling off the edge and plummeting down below, so I closed the distance and pulled Wheeler to safety, just as he nearly fell off. Wheeler was gasping for air as he put his hands on his knees and shook his head slowly, appearing to be in disbelief over what just transpired.

As I was about to bring Wheeler over to where Luana and our Pokémon were for safety reasons, he suddenly fainted and nearly faceplanted on the ground next to me, if it wasn't for me catching his fall. Taking a look at Wheeler's face showed me how much he was crying, as his face was covered with tears that streamed down his face. I brought the man over to our Partner Pokémon and had Buneary keep a close eye on him so he wouldn't try anything once he woke up, even though I was certain he wasn't on Blake's side anymore, I wasn't going to blindly assume he'd become friendly. Once the entire situation was finished, I went back over to Luana, where I saw Blake who didn't even appear concerned in the slightest, something which didn't surprise me.

"Nice work on saving Wheeler, Kellyn. Am I ever glad that you or him didn't get hurt!" Luana said.

"Thanks Luana, you're doing a great job yourself!" I said as Blake gritted his teeth.

"Shut up you foolish girl, once Dusknoir's paralysis is over, you'll both regret ever facing me." Blake said.

"The only person who'll be regretting anything is you, Blake." I said as I glared at Blake, making him flinch.

As Luana continued to make loops around the Dusknoir, I glanced at my Styler to see that Dusknoir's Friendship Meter had risen to seventy two percent. My joy was short lived however, as the powerful Pokémon soon broke free from being paralyzed as it regained its ability to vanish again. Luana and I knew all too well that attempting to look around for Dusknoir would be futile, so we had Buneary try to use Foresight so she could locate it.

In a matter of seconds, Dusknoir's position was revealed to be only a foot away from Luana as its fist glowed an intense red. Dusknoir swung at Luana and I did my best to act quickly as we both dove to the ground, barely managing to avoid getting burned by Dusknoir's Fire Punch, which warped the spot that Luana was in only moments ago.

The two of us scrambled to our feet as quick as we could before Dusknoir could launch another attack. With Pachirisu now becoming exhausted, Luana and I knew it was a matter of time before Pachirisu regained his energy back, so I had Pachirisu step forward to stun Dusknoir again.

"Okay Pachirisu, use ThunderBolt on that Dusknoir, then follow up with a Thunder Wave!" I said as Pachirisu unleashed electricity, hitting the Dusknoir hard as it wobbled from the blow.

Pachirisu then stunned Dusknoir as it was in the process of recovering, something which greatly angered Blake, though neither Luana or I paid him any mind. As Blake seethed with rage, Luana continued to make loops around Dusknoir while Pachirisu finally became tired and went off to the side to rest.

"Alright Kellyn, let's keep this up, we'll get Blake in no time!" Luana said.

"That's right, I'll be on the alert in case that Dusknoir breaks free from paralysis!" I said.

"You two have come far as Rangers, but that ends here. Everything that you two have done thus far is meaningless once I show you how nasty I can truly be." Blake said as Luana continued to make loops around Dusknoir.

"You mean nearly killing Wheeler wasn't enough?" Luana asked as Blake scoffed.

"You're joking…that man is nothing to me. If anything, he'd simply be the first person I'd point fingers at when the going gets rough, he's simply a pawn for me just like all of the other Team Dim Sun members. Yes, that's right, even Kincaid." Blake said.

"You're sick, we'll be more than happy to bring you down." I said as Dusknoir managed to break free from paralysis.

"Dusknoir, let's end this, kill them both!" Blake shouted as Dusknoir's fists began to become imbued with a dark aura.

"Eevee, use Bite on Dusknoir!" Luana said as Eevee bounded forward to assist us.

Eevee rushed towards Dusknoir and bit down hard on the Pokémon's hand, making it flinch from the move as the Shadow Punch was cancelled. Eevee quickly let go as Dusknoir recoiled and became unable to attack as it was in agonizing pain. I took a glance behind me to see how Buneary and Pachirisu were doing and saw that Buneary was doing a great job guarding Wheeler, who was now beginning to regain consciousness. A couple of inches from Buneary was Pachirisu, who attempted to get up, only to immediately sit back down as Buneary checked up on him.

_'__Don't push yourself too hard Pachirisu, we need you with us, so rest easy.' _I thought to myself as I turned back around and spotted Blake.

Blake looked as stoic as ever, with his expression being stone cold and void of any emotion as he examined us. Eevee was prepared to battle and I knew that she'd be able to handle Dusknoir and its attacks just as well as Pachirisu or Buneary. With a quick nod, Eevee sprang forward, ready to help us as best as she could.

"Eevee, Shadow Ball on Dusknoir!" I said as Eevee fired a fast shadowy ball at Dusknoir, which it managed to dodge.

I had Eevee use Shadow Ball once more, not willing to be deterred by Dusknoir dodging an attack., this proved to be a good tactic as this Shadow Ball hit Dusknoir for a ton of damage. With the Pokémon weakened slowly but surely, I knew it was time to make more loops around Dusknoir before it tried attacking us again.

I acted quickly and moved fast, watching as the Friendship Meter increased while Dusknoir gathered strength and attempted to lumber forward.  
"U-ugh…where…where am I?" Wheeler mumbled from behind us.

"Stay there Wheeler, you're safe now!" Luana said as Blake gritted his teeth.

"Foolish old man, you should have died from fright. Dusknoir, attack Wheeler, now!" Blake said as he entered a command into his Miniremo.

The second Blake finished typing on his Miniremo, the building began to shake and we all did our best to maintain our footing as the four large energy circuits began to flash a bright yellow. As we struggled to avoid falling down, Dusknoir rushed forward with its hands reaching out for Luana and I. Being protective of Luana, I instinctively moved in front of her and in one quick motion, the Dusknoir came within inches of me, which made me tremble as I found myself unable to move.

"Buneary, Hi Jump Kick on Dusknoir!" Luana said as the rumbling ceased.

As the Dusknoir eyed me, I knew that the capture process was nearly finished, so I breathed a sigh of relief as I readied myself. Within the next moment, I saw Buneary collide with the Dusknoir, sending the large Pokémon far back where it couldn't do us any harm.

"Good job team, let's finish this!" I said as I made loops around the Dusknoir.

"Hahah! Level Four has finally taken effect, it won't be long now until every Pokémon will be my slaves!" Blake said.

Looking up to see if any carnage was happening in the sky, I saw that thankfully, the Pokémon bothering Keith, Sven and Wendy were gone and their Staraptors appeared to be under control. I felt awful being unable to really help them, but I also knew that if I focused my attention solely on our friends, then Blake may very well gain the upper hand. After a couple of minutes of making loops around Dusknoir, I saw Pachirisu standing in front of me in a fighting stance. No words needed to be said as Pachirisu stunned the Dusknoir once more and rendered it immobile.

Soon enough, the Dusknoir's Friendship Meter reached ninety five percent, though unlike most of the encounters we've had with Team Dim Sun, Blake didn't seem worried, in fact, he had a smirk, which made me realize something was very wrong. Once two dozen more loops were quickly made around Dusknoir, the capture was complete at last. The Miniremo Blake was using burst into flames and was reduced to scrap metal, followed by Dusknoir turning to face us, with its expression going from one of malevolence to a much friendlier one as it vanished. Looking to our left, Luana and I saw that Wheeler was now completely alert, though he made no attempt to harm our Pokémon as he gratefully smiled at us.

"Rangers…thank you, you've stopped Blake." Wheeler said as we faced Blake, who had a smirk plastered on his face.

"You old fool…that was your Miniremo that was destroyed…I still have mine." Blake said as he took out a Miniremo.

Luana and I charged forward to stop Blake, but it was too late as he only hit a single button. We all looked at one another in shock as we backed away from Blake, who was now beginning to cackle.

"W-w-what's going on?" Wheeler asked.

"I just summoned a wonderful Pokémon. All of you are going to enjoy what it has in store for you." Blake said.

In that same moment, the four energy circuits turned a dark red and the area above us became shrouded in total darkness. Looking up, I could see Wendy, Sven and Keith circling around the rooftop, though they were in various states of panic as their Staraptor were becoming nearly uncontrollable.

"Now then, I may as well explain what I just did. Kincaid and I conducted a series of tests in the event that I was ever cornered like this…we added an additional level on top of the four previous levels that were installed…I call it…Level Dark." Blake said.

"L…Level Dark…" Luana muttered.

"That's right, Level Dark. The evil and darkness in my heart has allowed me to control a powerful Pokémon and have its will swayed and get overpowered by my own. Finally…I will be a king for Almia, after I first have all of you Rangers eliminated and slaughtered like the trash you are. Come…Darkrai!" Blake said as a pitch black hole opened up between us and Blake.


	73. Chapter 73: The Final Fight: Part 3

**A/N: Sorry for the late update everyone, I hope this chapter is something you guys enjoy while I polish up a few more lovely chapters!**

Chapter 73: The Final Fight: Part 3

"D-Darkrai…I-I've never heard of such a Pokémon before." I said.

"Since that's the case, I may as well enlighten you two…Darkrai…it's a legendary Pokémon that's said to cast people and Pokémon into darkness. With it as my first slave, I'll be able to make my opposers vanish with its Dark Void." Blake said.

Once Blake finished saying those words, an arm extended upwards, facing the sky as a second arm soon followed. Not even a second later, the Pokémon shot up into the air before appearing in front of us, with Blake looking even more eager to give us a beatdown compared to before.

_'__T-this is Darkrai…the Pokémon that Blake wants to use…as his first slave…' _I thought to myself as Blake laughed.

"Wonderful…truly wonderful! Darkrai…you're going to be a great asset for taking over Almia, I applaud your marvelous entrance!" Blake said as he clapped joyfully, with a sinister smile appearing on his face.

Darkrai paid Blake no mind and eyed us closely, before carefully watching our Pokémon and Wheeler.

"I-I-I want to get out of here…h-help me…" Wheeler mumbled as I heard the flapping of wings and saw Sven land next to us.

"Kellyn! Luana! Let's get Wheeler out of harm's way!" Sven said.

"Sounds like a plan! Wheeler, we'll help you out, no need to panic!" I said as Wheeler got to his feet.

"That's right, hop on before Blake loses it!" Sven said as Wheeler climbed onto Sven's Staraptor.

"Thank you…I'll be forever in your debts!" Wheeler said as Sven handed Luana the Yellow Gem.

"Trying to escape? Darkrai, attack that Staraptor with a Dark Pulse, now!" Blake said as Darkrai ignored him.

"I'll get Wheeler outta here while I have a chance!" Sven said as Staraptor quickly flew off.

Unfortunately, Darkrai made a raspy noise and its arm glowed a dark purple as it launched a Shadow Ball at Sven, who had already moved off the rooftop and was heading towards the Ranger Union.

"Sven, change direction quick!" I shouted, knowing that simply telling Sven to look out would only end up with him getting hurt.

Thankfully, Sven was able to hear me over the flapping of Staraptor's wings and dodged Darkrai's Shadow Ball. However, the ghastly Pokemon launched yet another Shadow Ball at Staraptor, hitting it hard as the Pokémon flapped its wings harder than normal, before beginning to fall as Wheeler and Sven began to scream in terror.

"Sven!" Keith screamed as Wendy dove fast and hurtled towards the pair.

Meanwhile, Blake was cackling like a madman and Darkrai silently watched us, appearing to size us up and see if we were a threat to it. I was torn on what to do at this moment as I knew that while Wendy's Staraptor in particular was fast and could save Sven, Wheeler and Staraptor in time, the other issue was that I had zero knowledge on Darkrai's strength, though based off of its entrance alone, it was evident that it was a force to be reckoned with considering how easily it knocked Staraptor aside.

"Ahahahah! Now you see the pwoer of Darkrai?! Your friend is the first of many casualties to come! Get ready to join him!" Blake said as he typed on the Miniremo, only for Darkrai to once again not do anything.

"Kellyn, while Blake's distracted, let's start the capturing process!" Luana said.

"R-right, c'mon everyone, let's do this. Pachirisu, go and stun Darkrai!" I said as Pachirisu used Thunder Wave on Darkrai, while Luana made loops around the Pokémon.

Oddly, as Luana made loops around Darkrai, its Friendship Meter didn't increase at all, leading us to become very confused as our Stylers were infused with a piece of the three Gems. This continued onwards for a little bit more as Blake began to chuckle, though Luana and I heard the flapping of wings and saw Wendy flying above us, with Sven and Wheeler flying towards the Ranger Union, this time, going without interruptions.

Breathing a collective sigh of relief, Luana and I were able to steady ourselves and focus on the Darkrai, going on for a bit more on attempting to increase its Friendship Meter. Darkrai then broke free from paralysis and made a slashing motion with its left arm, sending black discs in our direction. Luana managed to dodge them as did I, though I didn't move quick enough and one of them grazed my arm, sending a trickle of blood down it.

"Gah…that was a close one…are you hurt Luana?" I asked as Luana immediately patched up my wound.

"No, I'm alright, please don't get hurt again, I'll end up panicking!" Luana said as she made loops around the Darkrai, before it suddenly let out a shrill and raspy scream.

_'__Darkrai…Darkai's suffering…we have to help it somehow!' _I thought to myself as I saw Darkrai's Friendship Meter vanish from my Styler screen, which never occurred before.  
"What happened? The Friendship Meter disappeared!" I said as Darkrai moved behind Blake.

"Heh, you two trying to capture Darkrai is about as pitiful as Wheeler struggling to not fall off of this skyscraper! Come on Darkrai, finish them off!" Blake said as Darkrai teleported in front of us and without hesitation, managed to lock me and Luana into place with its menacing glare.

"C-can't move…g-guys, are you able to move at all?" Luana asked.

With the inability to turn my head, I used my eyes to see our Partner Pokémon to the right of us, also unable to move.

"N-no, they…they can't…w-what do we do Luana?" I asked as Blake laughed.

"Don't worry about that, soon enough you'll see true terror and it'll all be over soon! Now Darkrai, use Dark Void on these two, kill them both!" Blake said as Darkrai looked at him.

Instead of following Blake's commands, Darkrai used its Dark Void on Blake, opening a pitch black void identical to the one it came out of. Blake soon started to slowly be pulled in, all the while flailing his arms and incoherently screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Help me you two! Don't just leave me here!" Blake said as the hold Darkrai had on Luana and I ceased.

Wasting no time, Luana and I rushed to Blake's aid, not knowing what the Dark Void would do to him. We reached Blake and pulled him out in spite of all the evil he's done, while Darkrai simply observing us and what we were doing. Now that Blake was free from the Dark Void and on the ground catching his breath, we immediately moved away from him, knowing full well of what he was capable of. As we expected, Blake got on his two feet and looked at us before turning to Darkrai and running back to the Miniremo. Blake then typed in another command, which made Darkrai hover closer to us while Luana and I backed away, fearful of the Pokémon and what it would do to us.

"Thanks for the help and all…but it seems that Darkrai can't be contained through no fault of my own." Blake said as the Shadow Crystal began to glow a combination of purple and black.

Darkrai let out another shrill scream, louder than before as it enveloped Blake in another Dark Void, this one drawing him in much faster as we tried to grab his hands to save him. After realizing that we wouldn't be able to drag Blake out, Luana and I had to let go with heavy hearts, otherwise, we'd be dragged in as well. With Blake being completely swallowed up from Darkrai's Dark Void, the Pokémon soon turned to us and opened up another Dark Void, dragging all of us in slowly compared to Blake. Almost instantly, Luana and I retrieved our Pokémon to prevent them from getting dragged under

"Keith, Wendy! Help us!" I yelled as we soon heard the intense flapping of wings.

"We're on our way!" Keith said as we spotted the two of them moving quickly in our direction.

Within no time, Keith and Wendy managed to drop down close enough where we could grab on the Staraptor's talons. Thankfully, the Staraptor managed to take me, Pachirisu and Eevee out, with Luana and Buneary following shortly afterwards on the second Pokémon. Our Pokémon climbed on our shoulders as we repositioned ourselves to grab onto Staraptor's talons with both hands rather than just one. We soared up into the air for a few seconds before we landed back down onto solid ground, relieved to have escaped the clutches of Darkrai as Wendy and Keith hovered a bit near us.

"Kellyn, Luana, it's all up to you guys!" Keith said as he nearly missed getting hit by a Water Pulse.

Looking up, we could see more Pokémon beginning to congregate and head right for Wendy and Keith.

"We'll be monitoring your safety from above! Let's distract these Pokémon, Keith!" Wendy said as the two flew away from us.

"Now…we need to find a way to capture Darkrai, even if its heart is sealed off." I said.

"You're right…maybe the gems can do something, can we try getting closer to the Shadow Crystal?" Luana asked as we avoided a Shadow Ball being launched at us.

"Worth a shot, let's do it! Pachirisu, stun Darkrai!" I said as Pachirisu unleashed a surge of electricity, making Darkrai's movements cease.

"Wendy, come close to the Shadow Crystal!" Luana said as Wendy managed to fly closer to the Shadow Crystal and encircle it, making it glow as the Red Gem she carried reacted to the Shadow Crystal.

While Darkrai was paralyzed, Luana and I sprinted forward as our Gems began to react with the Shadow Crystal as well, turning the dark and gloomy purple into a clear blue color. Turning back to Darkrai, I saw that its expression was still one of pain and agony, leading me to become confused as the Shadow Crystal was seemingly no longer a threat compared to before.

"Darkrai's still in pain…I thought…I thought the Shadow Crystal turning this color would make Darkrai regain its senses." I said.

"Unless…Darkrai's heart could have been opened up just enough for us to try capturing it." Luana said as Darkrai started charging up a move.

"You could be right! Pachirisu, Thunder Wave!" I said as Pachirisu stunned Darkrai with powerful electricity.

Luana and I wasted no time in making loops around Darkrai, as I focused on charging up Luana's Styler to its second stage while she made loops around the Pokémon. At first, Darkrai's Friendship Meter didn't increase at all, worrying me as I thought that it would soon envelop us in a Dark Void similar to Blake. However, to my utter joy, I saw the Friendship Meter slowly increased and in fact, Darkrai still stayed paralyzed, though it was already beginning to shake the effect off. Luana already managed to increase Darkrai's Friendship Meter to ten percent and I had Eevee move in front of me so that she could attack Darkrai once its paralysis once gone.  
"Good tactic Kellyn, make sure you watch yourself!" Luana said as she completed two dozen loops around Darkrai.

"Thanks Luana, I'll be cautious, you do the same and we'll get this done in no time!" I said as Eevee prepared a Shadow Ball.

Darkrai soon broke free from paralysis and quickly teleported, with Eevee's Shadow Ball missing the Pokémon as the move made impact with the ground. In a split second, Darkrai appeared close to me with its arms glowing a dark purple and I knew having our Pokémon stall its attacks would be the best thing given that we don't know the full extent of its power.

"Pachirisu, ThunderBolt!" Luana said as Pachirisu zapped Darkrai, cancelling its attack as it got sent reeling back.

Darkrai got paralyzed from the fierce move and I quickly made loops around the Pokémon as I took over from Luana, making sure to listen out every so often and hear how Keith and Wendy were doing. Despite the Pokémon repeatedly going after Wendy and Keith, I could see that they weren't getting overwhelmed, though I still had Eevee launch a few Shadow Balls at some of the Flying types to scare them off rather then harm them.

After more than three dozen loops were made, I saw Darkrai's Friendship Meter was already at twenty two percent, though it was now starting to break from paralysis. Luana and I remained on high alert despite Eevee being at the ready, as Darkrai could easily teleport once more and attack us.

Darkrai regained its movement and as expected, it teleported quick, though not anywhere near us and instead, it was where Blake Hall stood before being sucked in as it lowered its head.

"Eevee, stop Darkrai in its tracks!" Luana said as Eevee used Shadow Ball, only for Darkrai to knock the move aside.

Darkrai followed up with sending out two purple flames at Luana, which swiftly chased her around the rooftop, scorching the metal. As I readied Eevee to attack, Darkrai protected itself with six purple flames that soon encircled it, though I knew having Eevee at least distract Darkrai would buy Luana some time in case it chased after me instead.

Acting quickly, I decided to make loops around Darkrai, while all three Partner Pokémon stood in front of me.

"Eevee, Shadow Ball on Darkrai! Pachirisu, Thunder Wave and Buneary, use Hi Jump Kick!" I said as all three Pokémon immediately acted.

_'__Perfect, having the Partner Pokémon attack at once would be the best option, since if Darkrai retaliated, the other two could land a hit on it while it's focused on whichever one attacked first.' _I thought to myself.

Eevee's Shadow Ball almost hit Darkrai, though the Pokémon dodged it as it launched a Shadow Ball at us, narrowly avoiding me. Pachirisu's Thunder Wave was barely able to make contact with Darkrai and Buneary hit Darkrai hard with Hi Jump Kick, sending it back a few feet. Knowing that I had to be quick, I made fast loops around Darkrai, bringing up its Friendship Meter slowly while I checked on Luana, who was able to outrun the flames after ten seconds.

"Sorry about not being able to help you, Luana, how're you holding up?" I asked as Luana grinned.

"Don't worry about it Kellyn, that was some quick thinking you did! Let me assist you, Pachirisu, paralyze that Darkrai!" Luana said.

Darkrai suddenly broke free from paralysis and vanished from right in front of us, only to reappear and grip my arm as it charged up a Shadow Ball.


	74. Chapter 74: Darkrai

**A/N: I hope I surprised all of you with this chapter that's not the finale! Please enjoy!**

Chapter 74: Darkrai

Pachirisu and Luana's quick actions managed to save me from getting killed by Darkrai, though Darkrai had me in its clutches as I struggled to escape. Thankfully, Pachirisu's electricity made direct contact with Darkrai and I quickly managed to loosen my left arm from its grip, which I then used to begin charging up Luana's Styler.

Once Luana's Styler was charged up to its second stage, she then proceeded to make loops around Darkrai, with the paralysis still preventing it from doing anything. This continued on for some time and I had Pachirisu repeatedly paralyze Darkrai anytime it attempted to break free from paralysis. After a few minutes, Pachirisu became tired and went off to the side, so I decided to help Luana out and took over for her in making loops around Darkrai, whose Friendship Meter was now at forty two percent. It wasn't long before Darkrai became mobile again and it immediately teleported, soon appearing to Luana's left as it charged up an attack.

"Luana…no!" I exclaimed.

I moved quickly to get in front of Luana and shield her from the attack, as Darkrai was less than a few feet from her and our Pokémon may not have been able to move in time. Unfortunately for me, Darkrai's arm managed to slam into me, hitting me hard in the chest as I groaned in pain.

I fell backwards from Darkrai's strength, coughing up blood as Darkrai started to conjure up another Dark Void.

"Buneary, Hi Jump Kick, now!" Luana said as Buneary sprang forward, landing a direct hit on Darkrai as it got pushed back.

"L-Luana…y-you'll get hurt…" I said as I continued to cough up blood.

Luana stood in front of me and quickly made loops around Darkrai while also checking back at me every so often to make sure I was okay. I could see Darkrai still in pain from being struck, which Luana used to her advantage to continue increasing its Friendship Meter as much as possible since Pachirisu was still exhausted.

"Kellyn, stay with me, we'll get through this!" Luana said.

I checked Darkrai's Friendship Meter, which was now at fifty five percent and steadily increasing. Luana quickly got her Ranger jacket and cleaned up some of the blood pooling around my mouth, which was now beginning to cease flowing compared to when I first got hit.

"Thanks Luana, just watch out for any sudden attacks." I said.

Darkrai recovered from Buneary's attack and instantly vanished, causing us to be alarmed as we wondered where it was. Darkrai appeared in front of me this time and Eevee, who was trying to get Pachirisu's energy back up, noticed the Dark type Pokémon and gave it a Shadow Ball to the face. Pachirisu, while still recovering, managed to let out a Thunder Wave in order to cease Darkrai's movements, giving Luana and I some additional time to capture the aggressive Pokémon.

"Wait Luana, let me take over and help you." I said.

"Are you sure Kellyn?" Luana asked as I moved forward, the pain I once felt no longer being as prevalent as before.

"You bet I am!" I said as I made loops around the Darkrai.

Slowly but steadily Darkrai's Friendship Meter began to increase once more, though the Pokémon broke free from paralysis, as Pachirisu used up whatever energy he had stored up from when he was recovering. Darkrai released five purple flames, though it didn't launch them at us and instead, the purple flames danced around the Pokémon for a moment before the five of them created a barrier separating us from Darkrai, only for the flames to multiply in front of us. After that, the flames surrounded our Partner Pokémon, us and Darkrai so that we'd be trapped with it if we made any attempt to flee from the rooftop. The flames were unbearably hot as I continued to make loops around Darkrai, even though they were a good twenty feet away, the fact that they were around us as a makeshift cage was troubling given Darkrai's ferocity.

Darkrai let out a raspy whisper, completely unintelligible to Luana or me as it vanished once more.

"Buneary, use Foresight on Darkrai! Eevee, get ready to attack!" Luana said.

Buneary hopped in front of Luana and her eyes glowed bright yellow momentarily, revealing Darkrai's location as it became visible. Darkrai was a few feet away from us, hovering in the air as it launched Shadow Balls at us. The moves were too fast for Eevee to deflect back, so we had to quickly get on the ground as Shadow Balls impacted the rooftop, denting it as the small explosions made smoke cover the surrounding area.

Once the barrage of attacks was over with, the smoke soon cleared and we were able to see again. I was initially confused why Darkrai didn't attack us while we were on the ground, as it had the perfect opportunity to eliminate Luana and I since we couldn't see anything. However, Darkrai didn't hesitate once we got full visibility back again, and its arms glowed a bright purple. I glanced back at Pachirisu and saw that he was still exhausted, which made sense given how tough this fight was for us in general, turning my attention back to Darkrai, I could see that whatever attack it was going to use was about to be ready.

"Luana, get out of the way, quick!" I said as we bolted in opposite directions.

Doing such a tactic was smart since we were stationary during Darkrai's previous attack and it seems that the Pokemon anticipated Luana and I to do the same thing again, as a fierce purple Flamethrower shot out from Darkrai's arms, right where we were lying down for cover not too long ago.

Darkrai was exhausted after the attack, giving us a chance to increase its Friendship Meter.

"Now that was a close one, nice save Kellyn!" Luana said as she made loops around Darkrai while I charged up her Styler.

Determined to put an end to this before any of us got hurt further, I checked back on our Partner Pokémon, only to see Pachirisu right alongside me, full of energy.

"Alright Pachirisu, stun Darkrai, quick!" I said as Pachirisu let loose Thunder Wave, a powerful surge of sparks covering Darkrai as it ceased movement.

While Luana made good work with Darkrai's Friendship Meter, I checked on our friends who were having a lot of trouble earlier. Looking up, I saw that Sven, Keith and Wendy weren't struggling with their Staraptor anymore and were cheering us on as they circled around the rooftop, still high above us like before. Darkrai was still paralyzed, making me relieved, though still on the alert for whenever it ends up breaking free from paralysis. Pachirisu and I continued to paralyze Darkrai for a few minutes whenever it tried to get free and I felt good being able to be of some use to Luana. Pachirisu got exhausted afterwards and I quickly checked how much progress Luana made, seeing that it was at eighty three percent made me exhilarated, as neither of us could even imagine the pain Darkrai must be going through, given that it was losing itself due to the Shadow Crystal's intense power.

"Eevee, Buneary, we need your help for when Darkrai's mobile again!" Luana said as both Pokémon stepped forward to take on Darkrai.

I took over for Luana shortly afterwards and proceeded to make around three dozen loops around Darkrai, which was beginning to shrug off its paralysis. Thankfully, Eevee and Buneary were at the ready for when the Pokémon would launch its next attack.

A few seconds later, Darkrai was able to move, so Buneary hopped forward along with Eevee.

"Okay Eevee, use Headbutt! Buneary, Hi Jump Kick!" I said as both Pokémon raced into action.

Eevee's Headbutt made a direct hit with Darkrai, knocking it back a bit as Eevee quickly moved out of the way. Buneary's Hi Jump Kick connected and made a solid blow to Darkrai, knocking it hard to the ground.

Acting fast, I continued with making loops around Darkrai, though it ended up recovering from the attacks rather quickly as I observed the Shadow Crystal, which was still the clear blue it was before. I knew that Keith still had the remaining Gem and was hoping he'd get closer, perhaps the gems themselves would calm Darkrai down enough though I also knew that I wouldn't want any of our friends to risk getting hurt on a simple theory of mine.

Even if my theory was correct, Darkrai was nearly captured at this point, nearing ninety two percent. However, the Pokémon attempted to vanish, though Buneary's Foresight made Darkrai retain its visibility…for a few seconds.

"Buneary, use Foresight!" Luana said as Buneary's eyes glowed yellow once more.

Darkrai became visible again, though its body was cloaked in a dark aura as it rushed right at us with lightning speed, nearly knocking Luana and I off our feet.

"Gah…are you alright?" I asked.

"I am, let me help you and take over!" Luana said as Darkrai looked around for us.

Luana took over from where I left off and made loops around Darkrai, which the Pokémon instantly noticed as it turned around and launched a Dark Pulse at us. Luana and I had to stop the capture process as we soon found ourselves on the floor with the pitch black arrows getting dangerously close to hurting us. Even Keith, Sven and Wendy had to do some evasive maneuvers to avoid getting struck by Darkrai's attack and I knew that finishing this fight the quicker, then the better it would be.

After some time, Darkrai ceased its Dark Pulse and we got back on our feet, prepared to capture the Pokémon. Darkrai's expression, which was fierce the entire battle, softened a bit as Luana finished making loops around it, signifying that our feelings of concern and care were finally getting through to it.

Once Luana made a dozen more loops around Darkrai, it was successfully captured and its expression was instantly at peace once more as we approached it.

"Darkrai…looks like you've awoken from a nightmare of your own." I said as Darkrai summoned a Dark Void, startling us.

However, Darkrai had no intent to hurt us, instead, the Dark Void made Blake Hall reappear, with the man looking quite shocked and even a bit terrified at what occurred.

"W-w-what…where am I?" Blake asked as Wendy, Sven and Keith flew around the Shadow Crystal, which was now glowing brighter than before.

"You're on top of Altru Tower, don't you remember?" Sven asked as Blake still struggled to understand and shook his head.

"N-no...I...I don't. I guess...I guess for a long time, I've just been locked in a constant nightmare, unable to see the pain I've brought onto others. I'm turning myself in Rangers, you saved all of Almia...and myself, from absolute destruction." Blake said as we all observed Darkrai circling around the Shadow Crystal, with the Pokemon and the Crystal's aura no longer being one of malevolence.

"Since that's the case, we'll take you into the Ranger Union. You've done a lot of bad, but there are people who can help you." Luana said as Keith's Staraptor landed on the rooftop.

"Don't worry guys, I'll bring him back to the Union. You two just saved the entire world, let me handle something!" Keith said as the three Gems levitated out of our uniforms.

"Woah, now that's cool!" Wendy said as the Red, Yellow and Blue Gems moved over to the newly transformed Shadow Crystal.

Keith wasted no time in taking out zip ties to restrain Blake Hall, who made no effort to resist as Keith secured his arms, hands and legs. Once Keith was all finished, he and Blake got on Staraptor and began their descent down the tower. After Keith left, Wendy and Sven both flew over to us and landed, with Sven getting off of Staraptor and hopping onto Wendy's.

"Well now, it wouldn't be fair for Almia's heroes to walk all the way down this tower, now would it?" Sven joked.

"Yeah, especially after all you two have done! We'll be at the Ranger Union. Congratulations Kellyn and Luana, you two saved Almia!" Wendy said.

"Thanks guys, we couldn't have done it without the help of any of you! Everyone came through this tough challenge!" I said as Darkrai finished rejoicing and appeared in front of us, looking very grateful before vanishing shortly afterwards.

"Darkrai vanished…do you think it's happy now?" Sven asked.

"I certainly do, I could really see the peace on its face…now then let's back to the Ranger Union, wanna race?" I asked as we all grinned at our Partner Pokémon quickly hopping in our laps.

"You know we do! Now c'mon Sven, let's go and beat these two!" Wendy said as the duo took off.

"Oh no, we're going to lose!" Luana said as Staraptor quickly left the rooftop.

"Haha, no we're not, we're just getting started!" I said.

After a short while, we caught up to Wendy and Sven and even surpassed them as we were halfway to the Ranger Union. Even though the friendly race was a close one, Luana and I ultimately won as we got congratulations once more. The four of us laughed and joked as we headed inside, with both Staraptor going to their usual spot by the Ranger Union.

**-A day later, Luana's POV-**

Hard to believe, but just a few hours ago, Almia was saved from evil and things were at peace once more. Kellyn and I got a great welcome back party…after we got some rest of course. By the time we made it back to the Ranger Union after taking down Team Dim Sun, it was already three A.M. and all of us were exhausted. We brought our Partner Pokémon in our bedroom to sleep alongside us and after getting some sleep and waking up around ten o' clock, Kellyn and I got ready for our days as normal, though our Partner Pokémon were still asleep, so we tucked them in as we headed to Sven and Wendy's room.

Now that it was ten thirty A.M., we did a light knock on the duo's door since Kellyn and I are used to seeing how they're doing, of course, they could very well be asleep and after waiting for a few minutes, we realized that was definitely the case. Figuring our friends needed the rest, we headed to the second floor as our stomachs growled.

"Oh man…sorry about that, I'm starving, want to get some breakfast?" Kellyn asked.

"You're fine, breakfast would be good, let's go!" I said as we entered the cafeteria.

Kellyn and I got our breakfast with the cafeteria being its usual empty self as we sat down to eat. The two of us talked and joked the entire time and before we knew it, our breakfast had been devoured. Once we finished eating, Kellyn and I put our trays to be cleaned and left the cafeteria.

"That food was good…I'm stuffed, you?" Kellyn asked.

"Yeah those pancakes were awesome, just what you and I needed to get our energy!" I said.

Kellyn and I were making our way to the third floor, only for Chairperson Erma to come down from the escalator and happily wave to us. The two of us exchanged greetings as Chairperson Erma looked very worried and stressed about something, which we knew couldn't be good.

"Chairperson Erma, tell us what's wrong!" Kellyn said as Chairperson Erma took a deep breath.

"Dearies...the Temporal Time Pokémon…Dialga…it's causing disruptions all across Almia!" Chairperson Erma exclaimed.


	75. Chapter 75: A Peculiar Encounter

**A/N: Here's a bit of a quick chapter for all of you, hope you guys enjoy it as the next one will be very interesting to say the least! Stay safe everyone, you're all awesome!**

Chapter 75: A Peculiar Encounter

Dialga? I don't think I've ever heard of such a Pokémon, Chairperson Erma." I said as Chairperson Erma took a deep breath to relax and steady herself.

"Well dearies, Dialga is a Pokémon said to control time and observe it to ensure that it runs consistently without any problems. However…something has upset the Pokémon recently and from what I've read in my younger days, it appears to be a Pokémon that can control space, otherwise known as Palkia." Chairperson Erma said.

"So ma'am, you think that Palkia could be disturbing Dialga? That could very well be a possibility…speaking of which, where was Dialga spotted in Almia?" Kellyn asked.

"Yes sir, I have a pretty good hunch Palkia is doing just that…if the legends about their battles are true. Now as for Dialga's whereabouts, Area Rangers patrolling by the Vien Forest noted that their Partner Pokémon, a Riolu, experienced a powerful energy emanating from the same area you two discovered that imposter Rhythmi. This energy was strong enough to make the Riolu hurriedly bring its partners to safety for fear that they might get hurt." Chairperson Erma said.

"We'll check it out right away!" I said as Kellyn and I prepared to leave.

"Ah, one moment! Wendy will be accompanying you two, only for the flight there, which won't take all that long considering the training she's done with Staraptor. I'd rather you two get a good vantage point from up in the air rather than walking around and having Pokémon notice you. I don't think that'll be intruding too much on your romantic moments, would it?" Chairperson Erma said with a smirk.

"Haha, definitely not! We'll be glad to have Wendy fly us there, Chairperson Erma!" I said as Chairperson Erma smiled.

"Good, good! Wendy should be downstairs in the lobby, she's pretty eager to help you guys out, especially given the fact that Dialga is most likely not in the right state of mind. Be safe you two and please let me know how it goes!" Chairperson Erma said.

"You bet Chairperson Erma, thanks for giving us such a task to handle!" Kellyn said as we waved goodbye and headed downstairs.

Shortly afterwards, Kellyn and I made our way downstairs to the lobby and spotted Wendy waiting at the counter, talking with the receptionist. Once Wendy spotted us, she finished up her brief conversation with the other woman and approached us, a big grin prevalent on her face.

"Hi guys! You two didn't keep me waiting long, are you ready to head to that little area?" Wendy asked.

"We are, can Staraptor handle us and our Partner Pokémon?" I asked.

"Of course he can! He'll be moving a bit slower than normal, but we'll only be a few minutes or less!" Wendy said.

"That's alright, let's get our Partner Pokémon first!" Kellyn said as we entered the Pokémon Training Room.

Inside the Pokémon Training Room was Ben and Betty, happy to see us as usual. In the resting area were our Partner Pokémon, all of whom excitedly greeted us upon entering the room.

"Hi guys! It's so good to see you, it feels like it was just yesterday that we saw you come in!" Ben said as Betty playfully elbowed him.

"That's because it was yesterday! How're you guys doing today?" Betty asked.

"We're doing great, just about to go on a mission. What about you guys?" I asked as Kellyn picked up all of our Partner Pokémon.

"It's the same old stuff for us! Your Pokémon are doing awesome as usual with their training, though of course that would make sense, you guys did save Almia!" Ben said.

"Good to know you guys are alright, that's always great to hear! As for our Pokémon, they're definitely as good as they are thanks to your hard work. Besides, it was hard work saving Almia, but it was all possible with the support of our friends, like you guys!" Kellyn said.

"Thanks Kellyn, we're glad to have been assistance to you guys. I assume you guys are going to take your Partner Pokémon, right?" Betty asked.

"Yup, we'll need them for a while!" Kellyn said.

"Not a problem guys, good luck on that mission!" Ben said as we waved goodbye before shortly exiting the Pokémon Training Room.

Now that Kellyn and I had our Partner Pokémon, we headed back to the lobby, where Wendy was still waiting for us. Upon spotting us, Wendy went outside and we followed her, where Staraptor was waiting.

"All ready to go guys? Staraptor's pretty excited that you guys are gonna fly with us!" Wendy said as she hopped on Staraptor.

"Really? Well we're glad to be going with you guys, let's see how we can help Dialga!" I said as Kellyn and I got on Staraptor, with our Pokémon getting on our shoulders.

"You and Kellyn are always ready for adventure, c'mon Staraptor, let's head to that hidden area where the Rangers' Riolu felt that strong presence!" Wendy said as Staraptor took off.

After a few minutes of flying, Kellyn, Wendy and I reached the same densely wooded area that was by the Ranger Union. Staraptor maneuvered his way around the branches that were in the way and landed safely on the ground, with Kellyn and I getting off of Staraptor shortly after we observed our surroundings. With us and our Partner Pokémon ready to locate where Dialga was, Wendy was prepared to take off.

"Bye Wendy, we'll let you know how the search for Dialga goes!" Kellyn said as Wendy smiled.

"Good, I hope you two are successful. I'll be heading to Altru Park for a bit, stay safe guys!" Wendy said as she soon took off.

Once Wendy had left, it was up to us to find the Legendary Pokémon and if in fact, it was possibly engaging in battle with Palkia or sustained damage. After exploring the area for a bit and taking care to look through the long grass and trees, we decided to head to the end of the pathway.

"Hm…that cave was where we discovered Regirock…and we have no clue how big Dialga is…where do you think it could be? Based on what the Area Rangers reported, it must be in this area, especially considering the fact that they had a Riolu alerting them of the Pokémon to begin with." Kellyn said.

"That's a good point…I can't see a Riolu being mistaken about feeling such a powerful presence." I said.

"You're right, their instincts are very impressive. It could be possible that Dialga left the area before we reached here." Kellyn said as the ground began to rumble.

Moments later, appearing before Kellyn and I was a massive Pokémon that supported itself on four legs and was dark blue in color, both of us were stunned…this Pokémon was unlike anything we had seen before. The Pokémon silently eyed us and our Partner Pokémon before letting out a shrill roar and emitting a bright blue light. After a few seconds, I opened my eyes to see that Kellyn and I were in a small house, where a young man, probably about twenty years old, was examining what appeared to be…a Shadow Crystal.


	76. Chapter 76: Dialga and Palkia

**A/N: Now our beloved heroes encounter Dialga...what does it have in store for them?**

**A/N: Sorry about the short chapters, I'm trying to do the best that I can, especially given the fact that I'm not feeling well. However, I thank all of you for reading any of my stories, I appreciate all of you so much! The next chapter will be uploaded on April 21st, have a wonderful Easter, Ramadan and Passover, everyone!**

Chapter 76: Dialga and Palkia

_'__Is…is that…Blake Hall as a younger man?' _I thought to myself as we saw Dialga appear beside us.

"Humans, both of your assumptions are indeed correct…despite this individual lacking the fierce expression and the facial hair that the present day Blake Hall has, I assure you that man is indeed Blake Hall. I am showing you two how he was when the Shadow Crystal was first introduced to him." Dialga stated.

"This is surreal…what if we accidentally alter the past somehow?" Kellyn asked.

"Very good question for an intelligent man as yourself. Neither of you have any cause for alarm, for the past events cannot be changed as he can't see us and even if that were the case, any changes wouldn't impact either of you. After all, my visions have shown me that if you and Luana didn't get involved to save Almia, then the world would be covered in darkness, with no one, human or Pokémon, being able to stop Blake Hall." Dialga said.

"Then the world would have been lifeless and bleak…but how did Blake Hall become the way he is? Did the Shadow Crystal itself directly influence him?" I asked.

"The reason Blake Hall turned into the man he is in the present day, is in fact because of the Shadow Crystal and its fierce hold on him…the second that he touched it, he was immediately impacted by the negative energy within the crystal. Blake was a great person before the Shadow Crystal's influence devoured him, but it managed to warp his desires into something twisted. Nevertheless, the actions you two have done to save Almia also winded up saving Blake Hall himself." Dialga said as we observed the younger Blake Hall, who was longingly gazing at the Shadow Crystal.

Blake Hall ended up touching the Shadow Crystal, though he immediately shut his eyes tightly upon doing so. After a moment, Blake's eyes reopened as he put his hand to his heart, with any emotion from his face essentially vanishing in an instant.

"Now the both of you have witnessed firsthand of a man's transformation into something of malevolence…despite the circumstances, the present day Blake Hall is actually at peace now, free from his nightmare. Please, do not dwell on what you've seen here. I will be transporting you two back to present day Almia, I was waiting for your arrivals to show you that in the end, it wasn't either of your faults that Blake Hall's actions that day impacted so many people and Pokémon." Dialga said as the large blue gem on its chest glowed brightly, forcing Kellyn and I to shut our eyes.

When we reopened our eyes, we saw that we were back in the forest by where Regirock's cave is. Dialga was in front of us, just as it was before.

"That was just…wow…I'm at a loss of words for being able to see the past in such a way." I said as Dialga smiled.

"Truly, it was a sight to see, albeit, not a positive one, but I know both of you had felt remorse about what occurred on Altru Tower and I wanted to assure you two that there's no need to blame yourselves." Dialga said.

"Thank you Dialga, where are you going to now?" Kellyn asked.

"I'll be heading back to my dwelling, a different dimension than here where I'll continue to guard time, unless Palkia decides to attack me once more." Dialga said.

Dialga opened up a blue portal behind itself, with the shape being identical to the gem on its chest. As Dialga bowed its head and turned around to leave, it suddenly got hit by something incredibly quick, surprising Kellyn and I.

Almost appearing out of thin air was a creature similar to Dialga, with a pink body and standing on two legs rather than Dialga supporting itself on four limbs. Dialga was hunched over in pain as the Pokémon, which we were certain was Palkia, continued its onslaught of lashing at Dialga with its arms.

_'W-what can we do…we've faced off against numerous foes but Pokémon that control time and space…' _I thought to myself as we began backing up to avoid getting hurt or killed by the sparring legendaries.

"Kellyn…Luana…run…Palkia's out of control…" Dialga said.

Kellyn and I definitely did have the fierce urge to run…but seeing Dialga hurt meant that we couldn't simply abandon it, no matter how dangerous Palkia was being.

While both of us were around sixty feet from the two Pokémon at this point, we knew that the forest, Pokémon and ourselves are at serious risk from getting harmed, so Kellyn and I ushered all of the Pokémon in the nearby vicinity away from the area. Our Partner Pokémon were talking amongst themselves on what to do and it seemed that they were at a loss of ideas just like we were.

"Luana…even though stopping Palkia may not be possible…we have to do something to prevent it from killing Dialga. It may be a long stretch, but let's try capturing it!" Kellyn said.

"That idea could work, Palkia isn't letting up at all…we have to try saving Dialga! Let's do this, Kellyn!" I said as we approached the two Pokémon.

We were both uneasy to even attempt capturing Palkia…however, we knew that failing to do so would surely mean Palkia would kill Dialga. Our Partner Pokémon saw us approaching the legendary Pokémon and ran up to help us, even with the situation not being the best. Kellyn and Pachirisu got into position as Palkia paid us no attention.

"Alright, Pachirisu, paralyze Palkia!" Kellyn said as Pachirisu released electricity, hitting Palkia successfully as it became paralyzed.

Kellyn quickly made loops around the stunned Palkia while I charged up his Styler so that it could reach its second stage. Once that was done, Kellyn continued to use his Capture Disc to encircle Palkia, which required more effort than most Pokémon due to its size. The Pokémon eventually started to break free from paralysis after its Friendship Meter reached close to twenty percent. Worried, Kellyn had Pachirisu immediately stun Palkia when it seemed like it was mere seconds away from becoming mobile again.

After Kellyn made around two dozen more loops, I took over for him in the process, noting how Dialga was now beginning to move once more. As Palkia continued to try breaking free from paralysis, I had Pachirisu stun the legendary as Kellyn charged my Styler up to its second stage. Eventually, Pachirisu became tired and went off to the side to rest, with Buneary following him. Raichu, Vulpix and Eevee remained by our side to brace for when Palkia's paralysis was over, which didn't take long as both legendaries got up.

Despite our assumptions that Dialga and Palkia would go back to fighting, what actually happened surprised us…Dialga quickly got up and rushed over to Palkia, opening a portal behind it and shoving it in. The real surprising part was that when Palkia made contact with said portal…it didn't actually go in, which confused Dialga as it bowed its head to contemplate.

"Kellyn…Luana…I have always been able to control and manage time…yet I'm unable to alter the time around me to conjure a portal to put Palkia back in its own dwelling. This has never occurred before…" Dialga said as Palkia's paralysis wore off.

Palkia immediately began its onslaught once more, striking Dialga hard with a purple circular projectile. Dialga took the blow and shrugged it off before hitting Palkia with a powerful headbutt, sending it to the ground.

"Fine…I shall listen…despite us fighting for centuries, this is the first time that we've ever ceased a fight. Go on Dialga." Palkia said.

"Palkia, as Kellyn just stated, something's not right. Take a look behind you and you'll see what I mean." Dialga said.

Palkia arched its head around, seeing that Dialga's portal to send it back home was still there. To make things even stranger, Palkia's tail was touching the portal directly, yet here it still was.

"How peculiar...anytime either one of us has tried sending the other back, it's always worked!" Palkia said as Dialga nodded.

"That's right…I suspect that this is the work of Giratina…" Dialga said as Kellyn and I shuddered.

"Giratina? What sort of Pokémon is that?" I asked.

"Giratina is a legendary like us…it reigns over the Distortion World and is known to be very ruthless…so much so that every legendary Pokémon agreed that we had to banish it there." Dialga said.

"To make matters worse, Giratina isn't even being mind controlled like the other Pokémon you've faced…that's just how it is…vicious and deadly." Palkia said.

"Why is Giratina disrupting time and space?" Kellyn asked as Palkia scoffed and tried summoning a portal of its own.

"My guess is that Giratina…is about to come loose into your world. Palkia…you and I both know that won't work." Dialga said.

Palkia soon saw that the legendary was in fact correct, as the pink portal Palkia opened up didn't carry it back home as intended.

"I hate it when you're right…we have to stop Giratina, everyone's lives are in danger!" Palkia said.

"That's right, Dialga, what can we do to help?" I asked.

"While I respect and deeply admire you two, this can't be something either of you, nor your Pokémon, can handle. Giratina is a force to be reckoned with and I don't want Kellyn or you to get killed by such a foe. Please let us handle this." Dialga said.

"There must be something we can do…" Kellyn said as we saw a black, ominous portal open up between us and the legendaries.

"I-is that…?" I stammered as we all backed away.

"It's Giratina…it's here." Dialga said as two large, black wings came out of the portal.


	77. Chapter 77: Battling Giratina (Part 1)

**A/N: I hope you all like this chapter and my take on the Distortion World! While it may not be like Pokemon Platinum's view on this alternate place, I'd say it's just as frightening. I hope you're all staying safe and sound!**

Chapter 77: Battling Giratina (Part 1)

Once the black wings extended, it soon became apparent that what we were facing was terrifying. A massive face soon emerged, shrouded in a black mist, though its facial features were still visible, such as a large mouth, with yellowish-gold half rings encircling its face, and beady red eyes. The rest of its body came out of the vortex as black, shadowy tendrils grabbed Dialga and Palkia, its colors of red, black and gray sending shivers down my spine as Kellyn, our Partner Pokémon and I stood motionless with the scene unfolding before us. Giratina spotted us and immediately began dragging Palkia and Dialga down, with both legendaries launching attacks at the other Pokémon in a vain attempt to escape. Within mere seconds, Giratina, Dialga and Palkia vanished…Kellyn, our Pokémon and I managed to move our feet once more and we looked down into the portal, seeing how dark it was…though there was solid ground where we could land safely.

"I don't like this…but we have to save Dialga and Palkia, let's go!" Kellyn said as we all dove into the vortex.

As we entered the portal, my vision immediately went black, though I quickly regained my sight as I saw that we were slowly descending to the same large platform we saw moments ago. Kellyn and I looked around to see if any of the legendaries were nearby, but all we could see was the bare land floating in the air…it was eerie to say the least. Some time later, we made it onto solid ground and looked around, seeing only a single path forward, with the path itself being slabs of rock that were levitating. I felt absolutely anxious…as if Giratina would come out of nowhere and kill us immediately…dread soon filled my entire body as I took a deep breath, prompting Kellyn to make sure I was okay, which made me smile despite how terrified I was.

"Sorry Kellyn, I'm just…scared. I've never seen such a desolate place before, it's so…lifeless here." I said as Kellyn nodded.

"I agree, I don't feel comfortable here either…I'm scared too…but we both need to try being as strong as we can, for our Pokémon and for ourselves. We've faced some dangerous foes…we can face this." Kellyn said as I got a boost of courage.

"You're right…let's save Dialga and Palkia!" I said as our Partner Pokémon cheered.

"Looks like they're ready for this too…let's get going!" Kellyn said as we moved towards the first floating slab of rock.

Kellyn went before any of us and tested the rock with one of his feet to make sure it was stable. Seeing that it didn't move at all, Kellyn hopped on the first slab of over a dozen, going slow and steady. I followed Kellyn's lead and jumped on the rock, with our Partner Pokémon right behind me, after that, we continued to move at a constant pace. Once we reached the twentieth step, we saw a large clearing, similar to the floating land we first stepped foot on.

At first, neither of us saw anything, but before we knew it, more slabs of land materialized in front of us, slowly spiraling downwards to the point where Kellyn and I weren't able to fathom the depth of this place.

"The Distortion World…I never could've imagined such a place." I said as we continued onwards to the floating slab.

"Neither could I…this place is the definition of desolate…I wonder if Giratina being banished here made it more resentful towards the legendaries than it already was." Kellyn said as we began traversing on the slabs.

"It could definitely be possible…it's devoid of any life, no humans or Pokémon are around, aside from Giratina." I said.

Kellyn and I reached the twentieth step before long, though we were very worried when we saw absolutely nothing in front of us. As I began to wonder what to do, a giant piece of land materialized in front of us, this one being far larger than any of the other, it was at least the size of a few Wailord and we quickly got onto the floating land.

"Phew…we made it to a more stable spot…I'm getting worried though, we haven't seen any of the legendaries since we came here." Kellyn said.

"It's getting me concerned too, I don't even know what to make of this place!" I said as more land soon began appearing in front of us.

"The only thing we can do is keep going forward…is that…is that an upside down lake?" Kellyn asked.

I turned my head to where Kellyn was looking at…and to my surprise, I saw another piece of land floating above us, with a small lake being completely upside down in the center, just as Kellyn mentioned.

Pachirisu stepped forward along with Buneary and the two of them observed the body of water. Pachirisu shot out a small jolt of electricity and the electric currents were being held into place right where the water was. Kellyn and I looked at each other as Buneary and Pachirisu jumped up and landed in the small lake, followed by Eevee, Raichu and Vulpix quickly joining them.

"This place just gets weirder and weirder…but we have no choice except continuing onwards!" I said.

"That's right, I just hope we find the legendaries soon…maybe we can make Giratina come to its senses." Kellyn said.

Kellyn and I soon joined our Partner Pokémon in the lake, which wasn't cold in the slightest. Looking at the sides, I saw that the land surrounding the lake was very narrow that even our Pokémon couldn't go across it. All of us swam through the lake, trying to make sense of the Distortion World, which we knew wouldn't be possible at all. Soon enough, we reached the end of the lake and stepped out of it, to our surprise, the water didn't drench our clothes…it was as if we didn't even go into the lake to begin with.

As we looked around for any more floating land, we noticed some appearing in front of us, though only five slabs emerged. Kellyn and I took a step forward, taking note of how these slabs would make us right side up instead of the confusing upside down perspective we were currently at.

Our Partner Pokémon headed onwards and jumped on the pieces of land, going from their upside down position that they were in to being right side up. Kellyn and I followed them and were relieved to have our perspective back to what we were used to. More slabs continued to appear and eventually stopped after ten of them materialized.

Kellyn and I followed our Partner Pokémon until the tenth step, where a massive slab of land that was similar in size to the last one appeared before us. Our Partner Pokémon went on the slab and we joined them, though we soon felt an overpowering presence…one that seemed to be crushing us.

"W-what is this feeling of despair and agony?" I asked.

"This…this must be what Giratina feels…" Kellyn said as Dialga and Palkia soon appeared in front of us.

The two Pokémon floated in our direction before collapsing on the ground in front of us, exhausted and spent of most of their energy. Kellyn and I wasted no time in rushing over to help them in some way, with our Pokémon also quickly coming to the aid of the legendaries.

"Dialga, Palkia, tell us what we can do to help!" I said as both Pokémon shook their heads.

"D-don't…Giratina…it's too powerful…" Dialga said as it groaned in pain.

"We're not leaving either of you here, we're taking Giratina on, even if it's to only buy some time for you guys to escape." Kellyn said.

"W-what a noble pair you two are…if only more humans were like you…but even so, don't try capturing Giratina, even we couldn't face up to it." Palkia said as something massive flew past us.

"That may be true, but we're willing to sacrifice ourselves to protect you two." I said.

Once more, something large flew past us, I could make out the colors as black, gray and red with hints of yellow. Swooping down in front of us was Giratina, though its appearance was different…in fact, it looked similar to an Arbok with its body shape, the Pokémon looked even more scary than it did outside of the Distortion World.

Kellyn and I felt like our feet couldn't move, but we knew that failing to even try capturing Giratina would lead to it seriously injuring, or even killing Dialga and Palkia. The two of us gathered all of our courage and stepped forward as Giratina let out a fierce roar.

To our astonishment, Dialga and Palkia immediately vanished into nothingness and we looked around to see that they weren't anywhere to be found.

Giratina eyed us intently before it floated forward and I shuddered, both in fear and with anticipation of what it would do. In the blink of an eye, Giratina spat out a Shadow Ball at us, which was enough to get us into gear. Kellyn and I dodged the fast moving Shadow Ball, which made contact with the ground, causing a small crater to form where I once stood.

Giratina then flew toward us and we both hit the ground quick, not knowing what to expect from such a dangerous Pokémon. I looked around to see where Giratina was, only to find that the Pokémon ceased the presumed attack and continued to stare at us.

"W-what's it doing?" Kellyn asked as we both stood back up.

"I…I don't know, but we can't let our guards down for a second, or we're done for." I said as Giratina's eyes darted between examining Kellyn and I.

Giratina then moved forward slightly and began to charge up an attack from its mouth. Thankfully, Pachirisu quickly got in front of us and immediately shot off a powerful Thunder Wave which made its way to Giratina. The shadowy Pokémon froze completely and we got into position so that we could begin capturing Giratina. Kellyn went ahead and charged up my Styler to reach its second stage and I wasted no time in making loops around the paralyzed Pokémon.

Unfortunately, Giratina was beginning to shrug off the effects of paralysis rather fast, so Pachirisu responded by stunning the large Pokémon once more. After I made close to three dozen loops around Giratina, Kellyn took over from where I left off. This continued on for some time as Giratina's Friendship Meter steadily increased to around fifteen percent, with Kellyn and I having Pachirisu stun the Pokémon whenever it was close to breaking free.

Before we knew it, Pachirisu became tired and went off to the side to rest, so Eevee soon stepped up to help along with Raichu. We knew that any hesitation would lead to Giratina getting a chance to attack once it could move, so I had Eevee prepare a Shadow Ball for when Giratina started to move. Kellyn on the other hand had Raichu get Thunderbolt ready, as the Pokémon kept shaking off the paralysis when Thunder Wave was used.

"Get ready Kellyn…Giratina's about to become mobile again." I said as Kellyn nodded.

"Don't worry, we're ready for it!" Kellyn said.

It wasn't long before Giratina broke free and let out a roar, causing Kellyn to cease the capturing process. To our horror, Giratina immediately vanished into thin air, making Kellyn turn to Buneary immediately.

"Buneary, use Foresight!" Kellyn said as Buneary's eyes glowed bright yellow.

In a split second, Giratina's position was revealed, surprising the Pokémon as it recoiled back quickly.

"There you are…Eevee, follow up with a Shadow Ball!" I said as Eevee took aim and fired at Giratina.

"Now Raichu, use Thunderbolt on Giratina!" Kellyn said as both attacks connected with the legendary.

Thankfully, Raichu's Thunderbolt managed to stun the Pokémon, which meant we didn't have any time to waste as I began making loops around Giratina. I did my best to be quick, but I also wanted to avoid making any eye contact with the legendary, as whenever I did, even if it was for a split second, seeing its piercing red eyes made me shiver when I saw how much hate was in them.

As Kellyn finished charging up my Styler to its second stage, Giratina somehow managed to break free nearly instantly. The shadowy Pokémon then floated above us and started charging up a fierce attack, its entire body glowing a bright yellow, however, it then seemed to stop before it disappeared completely. A few seconds later, Giratina reemerged to where it was just a couple of feet from us and it didn't hesitate to head directly for Kellyn and I, moving far too fast for either of us to get a chance to move in tome.


	78. Chapter 78: Going back to Almia

**A/N: The reason for the short chapters is because I'd rather everyone get to read a chapter once a week rather than once every three weeks, despite the chapters not being super long. Another reason is because this isn't the final chapter and I wanted to make it separate from the others and finish the story on the 80th chapter! In the next chapter, our beloved heros capture the Regi Trio and another ****Pokémon lying in wait for them.  
**

**A/N: I hope you're all staying safe!**

Chapter 78: Going back to Almia

Giratina arched its body into the shape of an S before it started to fire off a round of purple projectiles at us. Kellyn and I immediately ducked for cover as we avoided the raging Pokémon's attacks, which it soon ceased after some time. The attacks from Giratina didn't let up, in fact, it let out a ferocious Dragon Breath, scorching the ground in front of us as our Partner Pokémon sped towards us to help. Pachirisu let out an explosive Thunderbolt, hitting Giratina hard as it recoiled in pain while Buneary, Raichu, Eevee and Vulpix got ready to attack the Pokémon as well.

Buneary used Hi Jump Kick on Giratina, sending it far back as Raichu, Eevee and Vulpix each landed ThunderBolt, Shadow Ball and Flamethrower respectively. Giratina ended up getting stunned from Raichu's attack, giving us a chance at continuing to increase its Friendship Meter. Kellyn made loops around the Giratina while I helped by charging up his Styler so it could reach the second stage.

_'What an unnatural place this is…Kellyn, you and I are going to get through this and make it back home!' _I thought to myself as Vulpix got ready to attack once more.

"Vulpix, get ready to use Fire Spin on Giratina once it becomes mobile again!" I said as Vulpix lunged forward in preparation.

Kellyn continued to make loops around Giratina, going quick and steady to make sure that its Friendship Meter would increase. Before either of us knew it, the Pokémon's Friendship Meter had reached twenty five percent, though it was too early to celebrate as Giratina broke free from paralysis.

"Vulpix, attack!" Kellyn said as Vulpix unleashed Fire Spin.

Vulpix unleashed a swirling vortex and struck Giratina, thankfully, such a move ensured that it'll become tired since the paralysis wore off so soon.

The raging fire managed to impact Giratina, making it noticeably tired as Kellyn took full advantage of its exhaustion, making loops around the Pokémon. This continued on for a while until the Friendship Meter reached around forty six percent and I took over for Kellyn, as he was getting quite exhausted. I rushed forward along with Raichu, trying to make sure that Giratina wasn't going to attack anytime soon.

In the meantime, Kellyn charged up my Styler so that it would go to the second stage and it was at that moment Giratina worked up the strength to launch an attack at us. In the blink of an eye, Giratina vanished, due to the effects of Foresight and the Fire Spin wearing off. I turned to Buneary and saw that she was hopping forward to help us, while Eevee and Raichu got ready to attack.

"Buneary, use Foresight! Eevee, use Shadow Ball on Giratina once it's revealed!" I said.

Buneary's eyes glowed a bright yellow, revealing Giratina's location and making it visible once more…the large Pokémon was less than two feet away from us. Giratina then lunged forward and used its head to strike at us. Eevee attacked with a Shadow Ball as we all moved swiftly out of the way to avoid being pummeled by the Pokémon's head, which soon made contact with the ground, causing a crater to form as a result. Eevee's Shadow Ball hit Giratina and it flinched in pain, combined with it missing such a ferocious attack on us, the Pokemon couldn't move as quickly as it wanted to.

Kellyn made sure to hurry and make loops around the Pokémon while it was dazed and I helped by charging his Styler up to its second stage. Raichu and Vulpix came forward as we continued to increase the Giratina's Friendship Meter.

"Alright, Vulpix, Flamethrower on Giratina! Raichu, wait for an opening and go for a Thunder Wave!" Kellyn said.

Vulpix moved fast and spewed out a fierce Flamethrower, the fierce fire managing to char the Giratina as it launched a Shadow Ball at us, which Raichu cancelled out with a Thunder Wave, saving us from getting hurt while also stunning the Pokémon. Kellyn once again continued with increasing the Giratina's Friendship Meter, which was now at fifty eight percent. I watched in awe of how swift Kellyn was working with the capture process and saw that Buneary went off to the side to rest, while Pachirisu joined her and stood guard.

After Kellyn made more than three dozen loops, I went ahead and took over for him and saw that the Friendship Meter for Giratina was now at seventy three percent. I went ahead and continued off from Kellyn's capture process, though it wasn't long before Giratina broke out of paralysis. Kellyn and I didn't even get a chance to have our Partner Pokémon attack, as Giratina managed to surround itself with a dozen purple flames, making capture more difficult. Following this defensive measure, Giratina shot out several Shadow Balls, each one of them coming within close proximity to us as we ducked for cover, the Shadow Balls quickly and dangerously making impact with the ground.

Dust covered the area around us as Kellyn and I stood back up, trying to see where Giratina could be lurking nearby. The dust soon cleared out and we saw Giratina flying around, though it soon spotted us and launched a purple Flamethrower at me, thankfully, I was pushed out of the way by Kellyn, where the move turned the ground black as coal.

"Vulpix, Fire Spin on Giratina! Eevee, use Bite!" I said as both Pokémon moved into action.

Vulpix made another swirling vortex head towards Giratina, though the Pokémon managed to avoid it with terrifying speed. Thankfully, Giratina couldn't avoid Eevee's Bite as she clamped down on the Pokémon's head, making it flinch as she followed up with a few Shadow Balls directly striking it. Now that Giratina wasn't able to attack thanks to Eevee's assault, Kellyn had Vulpix follow up with another Fire Spin, this one managing to hit Giratina as it became exhausted. Following this, I made loops around the Pokémon, making sure to do it quickly, as the faster Giratina was captured, the faster we could get back home.

Vulpix and Eevee soon got tired and headed off to the side where Pachirisu was. In the meantime, I continued focusing on the Giratina, which was beginning to charge up an attack as its mouth glowed a dark yellow.

"…Hyper Beam? Luana, watch out!" Kellyn shouted.

Kellyn and I immediately ran for cover just in the nick of time, Giratina unleashed its Hyper Beam and the powerful move made massive cracks along the ground right where we were once standing. After the move missed us, Giratina had to take a breather, giving us an opening to continue the capture process. Raichu then launched a ThunderBolt, striking Giratina and making it fall to the ground from such a heavy blow. Kellyn took over and made loops around the Pokémon, acting as quick as he could so that its Friendship Meter could increase before it got the chance to attack us.

Giratina's Friendship Meter slowly increased to eighty percent and continued to go up as it eventually regained its senses, launching a dozen Shadow Balls near us in an attempt to cease the capture process. Raichu used his last energy and unleashed a ThunderBolt, striking Giratina as the Shadow Balls made impact with the ground near us. Kellyn and I paid it no mind as I took over for him, making loops around Giratina as its movement slowed down. The Pokémon looked tired, which meant I needed to be quick to avoid it regaining its strength, especially since it was attacking at a much quicker speed than before.

I continued to make loops around Giratina, not slowing down as it soon recovered from the attacks it sustained. Giratina's six tendrils began to glow a bright white and it unleashed a Dark Pulse, one from each tendril. The multiple Dark Pulses ripped through the ground, cracking it as we tried to avoid getting hit. Unlike the other Dark Pulse attacks we've encountered before, these ones zigzagged and even though we had a lot of space to move around, the projectiles moved too erratically. Thankfully, the Dark Pulses passed all of us and we avoided getting hurt by them. Kellyn took over for me and continued to increase Giratina's Friendship Meter, the Pokémon was preparing to launch another attack, but Buneary hit Giratina with a Hi Jump Kick, cancelling its attack.

Kellyn then made loops around Giratina and I watched my Styler as the Friendship Meter began to increase, it only took a few more loops before the Pokémon was caught and registered in our Browser. Giratina let out a roar, softer than the previous ones, and Dialga and Palkia reappeared, any injuries that they received were gone completely.

"...We're…we're back. Does that mean…?" Palkia asked as Dialga looked around.

"Correct…Kellyn, Luana and their Pokémon did it. Great work you too, nicely done." Dialga said.

"Thanks, we couldn't have done it without teamwork, but man, was it a tough battle." Kellyn said.

Giratina transformed its appearance soon after, going from its serpentine appearance to one that had six sturdy legs and two shadowy wings. The Pokémon then stepped forward as Dialga and Palkia observed it closely.

"Kellyn…Luana…you two saved me when I lost complete control over myself and for that, I thank you two." Giratina said.

"Giratina, what made you lose control?" I asked.

"I lost control because of the upset in the world's balance that was caused by Blake Hall summoning Darkrai. That Pokémon's slumber was disturbed and because we were linked, mine was as well. Despite the bleakness of this world, I control it to prevent evil from coming out, though admittedly, Dialga, Palkia and I do spar from time to time, it's all to test our power and ensure that we're able to maintain control over our separate domains." Giratina said.

"Wow, I knew that summoning Darkrai would've caused a problem, but never one on such a drastic scale." Kellyn said.

"Correct, even I couldn't control myself because of Darkrai's summoning, it was scary. Nevertheless, I apologize for attacking you two, as well as dragging Dialga and Palkia into this world out of rage." Giratina said.

"It's not your fault, now then, how about helping our friends back to their world?" Dialga asked.

"I can do that, it's not difficult to do." Giratina said.

Giratina shot out a purple ray at the ground in front of us, making a portal appear immediately afterwards.

"This'll take you two back to Almia. I thank the both of you once again for helping me come to my senses." Giratina said.

"We'll see you around Giratina, Dialga and I will be heading back to Almia and say our goodbyes to Kellyn and Luana in a more…nicer looking place." Palkia said.

"Oh come on, here's not so bad…well…actually…it is. See you Dialga and Palkia." Giratina said as it transformed back to its serpentine appearance.

"We'll be seeing you, thanks again." Dialga said.

Dialga and Palkia headed through the portal while Giratina gave us a quick smile before flying off through the Distortion World. Kellyn and I made sure our Partner Pokémon went through the portal and the two of us jumped through to head back to Almia.

Kellyn and I found ourselves back at the same area of the forest before we went into the Distortion World, with everything looking normal and at peace.

"Well Kellyn and Luana, it's time for Palkia and I to head back to our respective worlds. First, we need to do something." Dialga said.

Kellyn and I received a quick flash on our Stylers and we saw that Palkia and Dialga both registered into our Browsers.

"Now you two can tell people you've encountered us, with no way for them to refute your claims. We'll be taking our leave now, keep being awesome, you two." Palkia said as it summoned a portal and stepped through, vanishing instantly.

"Before I go, I once again wanted to thank you two for being peace to this world and to Giratina as well. If it wasn't for you guys valiantly diving into the Distortion World when we were dragged in, all could have been lost." Dialga said.

"We would've done it again if we had to! We're just glad Giratina managed to come to its senses, I feel bad that it was suffering for so long." Kellyn said.

"Agreed, no human or Pokémon should suffer. I'll also be going back to my world now, thank you Kellyn and Luana, as well as your Partner Pokémon too." Dialga said as it summoned a portal before making contact with it, going back in an instant.

"Wow, we actually did it, we caught Giratina and saved it from losing itself!" I said as Kellyn gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"That's right, we couldn't have done it without our Partner Pokémon and each other, thanks for the help guys!" Kellyn said as our Pokémon cheered and celebrated.

Soon enough, Kellyn's Styler began to ring and he soon answered it.

"Kellyn! Luana! Are you two okay?! Your Stylers both vanished off the Almia map!" Marcus said.

"Hi Marcus, we're fine, we just captured Giratina in the Distortion World!" Kellyn said.

"What?! G-Giratina? I've only ever read about it in school…ah but enough about that, do you two need to be picked up?" Marcus asked.

"If you can get someone then yes, but we wouldn't want to be a bother." Kellyn said.

"Oh please, you guys are fine! I'll have Espeon warp you two back to the Ranger Union." Marcus said.

"Hm? Espeon? Do you mean the same Espeon we helped in Altru Tower?" Kellyn asked.

"Yeah! The Espeon and Glaceon are helping us out with identifying any imposters that may try to infiltrate the Ranger Union! Sort of like Pokémon security guards! Thankfully, we haven't had anything like that happen, so they're helping around with any repairs or infrastructure problems." Marcus said.

"Awesome! Looks like we'll be back at the Ranger Union in no time, thanks again Marcus!" Kellyn said.

"No problem, Espeon's glad to be of assistance! I'll see you two later, please tell everyone how the Distortion World was, including the fight with Giratina!" Marcus said.

"Definitely, we'll be more than happy to do that! Thank you Marcus, we'll talk soon!" Kellyn said as he hanged up.

"Good thing we don't need to have Wendy come here with her Staraptor, I would've felt bad with having to ask them to come here." I said as Kellyn nodded.

"I get what you're saying, I'm glad that we were able to bring peace to Giratina." Kellyn said as we reappeared at the Ranger Union instantly.

**-Kellyn's POV-**

Looking around, we saw that we were at the Operator's Room, where Marcus, Chairperson Erma and Murph were. The three of them happily greeted us and were eager to here about our battle with Giratina and to make things better, Sven and Wendy came upstairs as well. We explained from beginning to end, once Luana and I finished our account of what took place, everyone was shocked and surprised.

"Since you two did such a fantastic feat, now that means that all you two need to do is fill up your Browser!" Chairperson Erma said.

"Oh boy…where do we start?" I asked.

"Well, the best place would be looking alongside Union Road for any wild Pokémon you guys may have missed!" Chairperson Erma said.

"Yeah, if you guys feel a bit rusty, you could always go down to the training room and practice for a while." Sven said.

"Then again, they did take on Giratina and captured it, so if anything, we need to get lessons from them!" Wendy said.

"Hahah, you guys are fine, I guess we'll have to get going!" Luana said.

"Don't worry, you guys won't have much trouble filling up the Browser! Best of luck!" Murph said.

"That sounds like it'll be a great challenge! Let's get started Luana!" I said as we said our goodbyes to everyone before departing the Ranger Union.

Luana and I first started along Union Road, looking for a few Pokémon we hadn't captured before, as we were a few minutes into our search, I was getting a call on my Styler, which I immediately answered.

"Kellyn, Luana…you know Chairperson Erma and Marcus were just pulling your legs back there, right?" Sven said.

"Huh? How so?" I asked as Sven chuckled.

"Chairperson Erma and Marcus filled us all in as soon as you guys left. What they're going to do is sync both of your Browsers with the ones on every Ranger's Styler so that the two of you won't have as much, if any, legwork to do." Sven said.

"Heh, are you sure you're not joking with us?" I asked.

"No no, definitely not! Chairperson Erma and Marcus were extremely grateful that you two saved Almia and the entire world, twice…and they wanted to pay you and Luana back in some way." Sven said.

"Wow, that's extremely generous of them, I wouldn't expect less from you guys! Thanks!" I said.

"Hahah, no need to thank any of us, we should be thanking you! I don't even want to imagine what this world would be like if you, Luana and your Pokémon didn't stop Blake Hall or Giratina. Now then, on a more positive note, once this call is done, Marcus and Chairperson Erma are going to sync both of your Stylers with all the other Rangers, that way, you two won't need to do so much searching around the region and you two can just come back to the Ranger Union. Once you guys finish capturing any missing Pokemon, you two can get some well deserved rest!" Sven said.

"That sounds like a good idea to me, we'll be back right away! See you soon Sven!" I said as I ended the call.

"That was a pretty good joke they played on us, I wouldn't have expected either of them to be messing around!" Luana said.

"I know, they got us good!" I said as both our Stylers received a notification.

Luana and I checked our Stylers to see that Sven was being serious. Both of our Browsers were filled up and we scrolled through to see the various Pokémon we have and haven't captured. Eventually, we finished looking through our respective Browsers and noticed four spots were missing, each of them being right by each other.

"Say Luana, remember those statues that we encountered throughout Almia? My father said that the three of them are connected to an amazing legend…how about we go find them?" I asked.

"Great idea, let's go!" Luana said.

Luana and I walked around Union Road and saw two Staraptor, which I quickly captured by making loops around it. The Pokémon then flew over to us and landed on the ground, with Luana and our Pokémon all climbing aboard the first one, while I climbed on the second one. Looking through the Styler, I saw that an Umbreon would be the closest Pokémon to us with the power of Crush 5, just what we need to awaken Regirock.

"Okay then, Staraptor, take us to Altru Tower…we're going to catch am Umbreon." I said as we took off towards Altru Tower.


	79. Chapter 79: Regirock

**A/N: Hope you all enjoy this short chapter! The next chapter will involve the other two Regis, as well as a special guest!**

Chapter 79: Regirock

After a short flight, Luana and I made it to the open area that essentially served as the halfway point on Altru Tower. Once we dismounted the Staraptor, we had them wait for us while we entered inside after opening the door. For the most part, the tower floor was the same internally, though the intense and dark aura that surrounded the entire place in general was now gone. I almost felt relief going through the place like a normal building as we looked around for an Umbreon. Eventually, we encountered a researcher who waved us over to a nearby room, which we never noticed initially on our first visit considering how all the rooms and floors eventually felt the same.

"Hi there Kellyn and Luana, I was informed by Chairperson Erma that you're both searching for an Umbreon? She didn't go into specifics other than stating that it was absolutely necessary to help you two out. Here, this room contains a plethora of Umbreon, which we've trained in a caring and nurturing manner." The researcher said as he opened the door, revealing a dozen Umbreon which were relaxing and playing.

"Wow, Chairperson Erma didn't even let us know that she was helping us out in such a way! It's good to see Altru Tower looking better than it did before!" Luana said.

The researcher smiled and motioned for an Umbreon to come over, one of them turned towards us and bounded in our direction, standing proud before playfully greeting our Partner Pokémon.

"Just so you two know, there's no need to worry about Umbreon's safety while it's in your care. Once you guys are finished with your task, Umbreon will be teleported back with our Pokémon recall system, you know, to prevent the Pokémon from getting lost or anything like that." The researcher said as I noticed two small green rings on Umbreon's ears.

"Understood, thanks for letting us know, if you talk with Chairperson Erma before we see her, please give her our regards." I said.

"I certainly will, best of luck!" The researcher said as we exchanged goodbyes and left the area with Umbreon happily coming along with us.

We exited the building after a quick walk to the door we entered from and saw the two Staraptor patiently waiting. Luana and I mounted the powerful Pokémon and we headed towards the area that had Regirock. A short while later, Luana and I reached the dense forest area near the Ranger Union, though we couldn't land right by Regirock's cave, given the fact that the Staraptor weren't able to slash through the branches and leaves with us on them. Instead, the two Staraptor landed near the area we encountered the Rhythmi imposter and the Pokémon waited for us after we made it onto solid ground, with our Partner Pokémon and Umbreon jumping off as we looked at one another and smiled.

"Awesome, we made it! Now we're only a few short moments away from reaching Regirock!" Luana said.

"That's right, let's go show it what we're made of!" I said as we walked along the path.

We soon came to Regirock's cave and entered, noticing that the weathered rock was still there. I ordered the Umbreon to use a Field Move on it and the Pokémon quickly unleashed a Shadow Ball at the statue before it followed up with a Dark Pulse aimed directly at it. Afterwards, Umbreon's green rings promptly flashed before the Pokémon disappeared and we waited a bit for any signs of the rock statue changing. In a few seconds, seven bright orange dots which resembled the letter H emerged from the once faceless rock.

_'Regirock…we're ready for you, give it all you got!' _I thought to myself as two large, rocky arms emerged from what we previously assumed was a statue.

A pair of legs soon followed and Regirock adjusted itself, lifting its arms above its head as it jumped on the cave floor a few times. The two of us were initially confused by this…but saw that the Regirock was flailing its arms about and the cave walls subsequently shattered, revealing that the cave wasn't as small as we thought, and was actually close to twenty feet wide and around the same length, giving us a lot more space to work with.

Once the Regirock was finished and fully came to life, it trudged forward as it prepared to battle. The Pokémon started off with using Rock Throw, heaving several tennis ball sized rocks at Luana and I, which we were lucky to dodge considering the speed of the attack. Pachirisu got into position shortly after the attack ceased and I ordered him to unleash a Thunderbolt at Regirock. The move struck the Pokémon fast like lightning, hitting it hard and sending it reeling back as it became paralyzed and unable to move. Acting fast, I made loops around the Regirock so that I can bring its Friendship Meter up, making sure to be diligent and not letting up for a second while Luana charged up my Styler to its second stage

To my surprise, the Regirock's Friendship Meter went up quicker compared to any of the other legendary Pokémon we faced beforehand. By the time the initial paralysis wore off, Regirock's Friendship Meter was already at twenty percent before Regirock retaliated with picking up a large rock and using Brick Break on it, sending shrapnel heading towards us. If it wasn't for our Partner Pokémon deflecting the rocks back at Regirock, then we would've been seriously injured, as there wasn't any way for us to get out of the way in time.

Luckily for us, Eevee and Vulpix followed up with Shadow Ball and Fire Spin, making a direct impact on Regirock as the Fire Spin soon connected, trapping the Pokémon and making it weary. Luana took over from where I left off and made loops around Regirock, which soon heaved up a piece of the cavern floor, though it soon became exhausted and ceased its attack.

"Alright Pachirisu, before Fire Spin wears off, use Thunder Wave!" I said.

Pachirisu immediately launched a surge of electricity, striking Regirock as the fire continued to swirl around it. Luana continued to make loops around the Pokémon as the paralysis kept it in place, preventing it from attacking completely. This continued on for some time and we both continuously had Pachirisu stun the Regirock whenever the paralysis afflicting it wore off. Once Pachirisu got tired and went off to the side to rest, it was up to us to continue the capture process before Regirock became mobile again, thankfully, the Friendship Meter was already at seventy five percent and steadily rising.

Soon enough, Regirock was able to move again, as the fire vortex and paralysis wore off. The Pokémon wasted no time in trying to launch an attack and it used Brick Break on the cavern floor, making a small crack on the ground as it used its arms to throw some pieces of rock at us. Buneary hopped forward and deflected some of the boulders, while Eevee used her head to smash them to bits. A few of the rock pieces hit Regirock, making the Pokémon jump up and down in a rage, with its expressionless face being difficult to determine its next move.

"Alright, Eevee, use Shadow Ball on Regirock!" Luana said as Eevee launched numerous Shadow Balls at Regirock, hitting it hard as it tried to recover quickly.

"Buneary, we'll need your Poké Assist!" I said as Buneary jumped forward and gave us a boost to both of our Capture Stylers.

I took over for Luana and made loops around Regirock, being as quick as I could so that its Friendship Meter could fill up before it recovered from the attack. Thanks to Luana charging up my Styler to its second stage as well as Buneary's Poké Assist, Regirock's Friendship Meter increased drastically and it only took around a dozen loops to raise it close to ninety percent. Regirock picked up another rock shortly afterwards, this one being at least Luana's size as the Pokémon hurled it straight at us.

Eevee used Shadow Ball to deflect the rock or at least attempt to chip it away, while the rock itself wasn't able to be sent back to Regirock, it was broken into hundreds of pieces on impact, making microscopic shards shower around all of us. Luckily, the Regirock needed to take a breather after lifting such a heavy boulder, and it wasn't able to attack so soon. I made more than a dozen loops around the Regirock and before any of us knew it, Regirock was captured and it was registered into our Browser.

"Woo, Kellyn, we did it! We captured Regirock!" Luana said as Regirock bounded up into the air, shattering through the cave's ceiling.

Luana and I looked at each other in surprise, wondering if what we saw actually happened…then again, given that we encountered Giratina and made it out of the Distortion World, this was considered normal by comparison. Before either of us could utter a word, I received a call on my Styler, which I answered right away.

"Hi Kellyn and Luana, we just got word that you two captured Regirock, good going!" Marcus said.

"Thank you Marcus, uh…about that…Regirock kind of…jumped into the air and we don't know where it went to." I said.

"Oh? That's…strange, well, no worries, since Regirock is a Pokémon captured by you two and hasn't technically been released by you or Luana, we have its exact location. One moment please…okay, so Regirock's at…the Ranger Union? Wow…well, there you go guys!" Murph said.

"Geez, that thing's fast for being a hunk of rocks. Thank you Murph, we'll be there right away!" I said.

"Ah no need, I'm going to check outside the window and see what Regirock's up to. Uh…heh, wow, looks like Regirock's pretty nice once it's captured, the Pokémon's actually playing with some of the Starly already!" Murph said.

"Hahah, thanks Murph, we'll be on our way then!" I said as Murph hanged up.

"Sounds like Regirock's doing good at the Ranger Union. Which of the two Regis do you want to tackle next?" Luana asked as we exited the cave.

"Hmm, good question…I think going for Regice would be a good choice, for now though, we'll need to get the Pokémon to activate it. Let's see what Pokémon we'll need…" I said as we checked our Stylers.

To our surprise, we saw that our Vulpix was able to activate the Ice Statue, along with Charizard, as it required a strength of Burn four thanks to us checking through the various hazards and obstacles that we encountered along the way.

"Wow, Vulpix, all the training you guys have done will come in extra handy! Looks like all we need to do is head towards Almia Castle!" Luana said as we affectionally patted our Pokémon.

Luana and I eventually made our way to where the Staraptor were and started to mount the Pokémon, only for my Styler to ring out.

"Hi Murph, what can we help you with? Did something come up?" I asked.

"Hello guys, just a bit of good news, Espeon will be able to teleport all of you to Almia Castle to save you two time on travelling. She'll bring you two right where the Regice is slumbering, though you two are going to have to be careful given how the area is even more cold than it usually is this time of year." Murph said.

"That's great, we really appreciate the help Murph!" I said.

"It's no trouble at all, seriously! Besides, once you two capture Regice, then it'll be Registeel! Best of luck, Espeon's teleporting you two right now!" Murph said as he hanged up.

In an instant, Luana, our Partner Pokémon and I were warped to the door leading down into the room containing the Dratini and the Ice Statue. The Staraptor went to a corner and huddled together as Luana and I went down the steps, ready to battle Regice and capture it.


	80. Chapter 80: The Regis' Master

**A/N: The final chapter of this story is going to be uploaded on the 28th of this month! ****I sincerely apologize about the delay in uploads, to make for it, here's a super nice and thrilling chapter!**

**A/N: Still don't own Pokemon!**

Chapter 80: The Regis' Master

"Alright…now all we gotta do is find that Regice, though it shouldn't be too hard since the room isn't too big." Luana said as we looked around, seeing that the interior was the same, though the Dratini that we encountered was gone.

In a matter of a few minutes, Luana and I spotted the Ice Statue in the same place it was the last time. Vulpix was more than eager to jump into action and activate the statue, wasting no time in using a fierce and fiery Flamethrower on the Ice Statue. At first, the Ice Statue didn't move, but in an instant, seven dots in the shape of a plus sign emerged from the front, as did two stubby legs and long arms which shined with the clarity of ice.

Regice shook off some ice particles off and slid towards us, immediately making a ball of ice with its two hands, launching it at us. The chunk of ice was rather large, but that didn't matter to Regice as it used all of its force to hurl the ice towards us, though Vulpix used another Flamethrower, making the piece of ice turn into water in an instant.

"Alright Vulpix, tire out that Regice with a Fire Spin!" I said as Vulpix shot out a vortex of swirling hot fire.

The fire managed to impact the Regice, slowing it down considerably as it became exhausted and simply slid around the floor. Luana decided to start off by encircling the Regice, starting the capture process as I charged up her Styler to its second stage. The fire danced around Regice's body, preventing it from trying to harm us and this went on for some time, as the fire was of course, very effective in making Regice's movements restricted. I took over for Luana and we continued to increase the Friendship Meter on Regice, steadily continuing with making loops around the Pokémon as the meter reached around twenty percent…at least until the fire died out.

Before either Luana or I could utter a command, Regice charged up an Ice Beam and we both went on the ground as fast as we could. Regice pivoted on its feet, covering the four walls with a thick layer of ice as it continued its Ice Beam, soon becoming disorientated as the attack stopped.

"There's our chance! Pachirisu, paralyze Regice!" Luana said as Pachirisu stunned the Regice while Vulpix went off to the side and took a breather.

Luana continued from where I finished as we went through the capture process again, making sure to not let up as the Regice was already attempting to break through paralysis. After around a dozen loops later, Regice broke free from its paralyzed state, though Pachirisu was quick to stun the Pokémon once more, rendering it immobile. This continued for a while as two of us had Pachirisu use Thunder Wave whenever it looked like Regice was close to regaining mobility, eventually, Pachirisu became tired and went off to the side to rest alongside Vulpix.

It didn't take much time for Regice's Friendship Meter to reach close to fifty five percent and the Pokémon was able to move again once more. Regice slid towards our Partner Pokémon that were resting and fired an Ice Shard that travelled quickly, I ran over to them so that I could protect Vulpix and Pachirisu, who were too tired to attack. Eevee was one step ahead of me as she fired off a Shadow Ball, destroying the multiple Ice Shards that were heading towards the three of us.

Eevee followed up with another Shadow Ball directly at Regice, making it sprawl back as it shattered some pottery due to the fierce blow. Regice was disorientated from the attack and began to spin around in a circle, almost looking comical if it wasn't for the fact that it began charging up an attack. Before the Regice could fire off whatever attack it planned to do, Raichu and Buneary stepped forward, eager to help in the fight against Regice.

"Okay Buneary and Raichu, Hi Jump Kick and Thunderbolt, go!" I said as both Partner Pokémon bolted into action.

Buneary hit Regice with a Hi Jump Kick, sending it flying as it hit the wall. The Pokémon recovered rather quickly and started to charge up an attack, though Raichu's Thunderbolt managed to connect, making the Regice struggle to regain its footing. Eevee jumped in with a strong Headbutt, knocking the Regice onto its back as Raichu used Thunder Wave on the icy Pokémon, stunning it and rendering it immobile.

I made loops around the Regice without hesitation, making sure to increase its Friendship Meter as much as possible given how the Pokémon was proving itself to be quite dangerous. Eventually, the Regice's Friendship Meter reached an outstanding sixty seven percent, going up quite a bit faster compared to Regirock's. It didn't take much time for Regice to shake off the paralysis and hop back up on its feet…to make things worse, the Pokémon didn't slide towards us as I initially expected and instead, it charged up an Ice Beam. Luana and I got out of the way as quick as we could, the Ice Beam barely missing my arm as the Regice continued its onslaught.

As Luana and I stayed on the ground hoping to not get hit, Pachirisu regained his strength and stunned the Regice, paralyzing it and ceasing its attack. Acting fast, we got back up on our feet and Luana continued the capture process, making loops around Regice quickly. Thankfully, the Regice's Friendship Meter filled up steadily as Eevee got into position to help us out.

"Eevee, use Tackle!" Luana said as Eevee charged forward and knocked Regice off its feet.

With the Regice getting a solid hit from Eevee and becoming unable to move, I knew that we needed to be quick in making loops around the Pokémon. I continued from where Luana left off and made loops around Regice, noticing that its Friendship Meter was now at ninety three percent. Regice quickly conjured up a large chunk of ice and threw it at Luana, though Buneary used Hi Jump Kick, shattering the piece of ice and hitting Regice, which hit the back wall hard due to the attack's ferocity.

Regice bounded out of the wall quickly and tried to conjure a few more ice balls, though I managed to encircle the Pokémon before it could muster the energy, completing the capture process as Regice became registered in our Browser. Satisfied with our capture, Luana and I gave each other a high five…before Regice promptly vanished.

"I…really hope that was Espeon's doing." I said as Luana received a call on her Styler, which she answered right away.

"Hi there Marcus, you wouldn't believe it…Kellyn and I managed to capture Regice in Almia Castle, only for it to disappear." Luana said as I heard Marcus chuckle.

"Hello Luana and Kellyn, sorry about that! Espeon teleported the Regice next to Regirock and the two of them are communicating with a few Budew. The both of you are making good work on the trio, now all that's left is Registeel!" Marcus said.

"That's right, Kellyn and I encountered its statue in Altru Tower. I remember marking its location on the map!" Luana said.

"Sounds good to me, I'll just have Espeon teleport you two to the Ranger Union." Marcus said.  
"Thanks Marcus, it'll be a short walk to the tower once we're brought there!" Luana said.  
"Actually Luana…one moment…I was checking up Registeel's location as I was talking with you and it seems that Registeel…isn't in Altru Tower anymore. I'm going to try pinpointing its location." Marcus said.

_'Registeel just…up and left the room it was in? That would seem really implausible if it wasn't for us seeing Regirock shoot up into the air…where could it have gone?' _I thought to myself as Luana and I waited for Marcus's response.

"Okay, so…Registeel's located in Pueltown…and it's moving. I'll have Espeon teleport you guys to where it is right now." Marcus said as he hanged up.

Luana, our Partner Pokémon and I were immediately teleported to Altru Park, specifically near the area Blake Hall gave his speech. This area was thankfully, rather empty now and the only Pokémon in the entire area was Registeel, appearing to slowly walk towards Union Road.

"Hm, looks like Registeel's heading to the Ranger Union…" I said as Marcus gave me a call, which I answered right away.

"Kellyn, Luana! Can you two confirm Registeel's location?" Marcus asked.

"Hi Marcus, Registeel's just walking towards the Ranger Union, it's not even paying us any mind." I said.

"Hrm, that's odd…I'm surprised that Registeel's on the move. Maybe someone somehow activated it when it was in statue form?" Marcus asked.

"That could be the case, I guess we just proceed with capturing it as normal, right?" Luana asked.

"I would say yes, especially as it's heading towards the Ranger Union, most likely going to join Regirock and Registeel since they'll truly be a Regi Trio. You got this guys, go get em!" Marcus said as he hanged up.

Luana and I stepped a bit closer towards Registeel and the Pokémon glanced over at us…before continuing on its slow walk towards the Ranger Union. I started the capture process by encircling around Registeel and managed to make a few loops before it jumped a couple of inches into the air, making the ground shake as we tried to avoid falling over one another. The mild tremor soon finished and Registeel began to move faster than it did when it was walking, Pachirisu was quicker though, as he managed to stun Registeel before it could attack us.

I continued from where I left off and made loops around Registeel, encircling it quickly as it stayed immobile. Seeing that the Pokémon may or may not break free from paralysis, I asked Vulpix to come over to us so that it could use Fire Spin on Registeel once Pachirisu's Poké Assist wore off. Registeel soon started to begin moving again and we had Pachirisu stun the Pokémon, this continued for a while and we continued having the Registeel get stunned whenever it was about to start moving again. The Friendship Meter increased steadily, rising close to forty five percent as we continued with the capture process.

"Luana, let's make sure that we do what we can so that Registeel doesn't try to cause any tremors! Vulpix, make sure you get ready with a Fire Spin!" I said.

"You got it Kellyn! We got this!" Luana said as she took over for me.

Luana managed to make close to a dozen or so loops around Registeel before the paralysis wore off. Vulpix was ready right away with a Fire Spin aimed at Registeel, making the Pokémon exhausted as the hot flames danced around it. Despite a direct hit on Registeel, it still managed to conjure up a large ball of steel, sending it hurtling towards us as it bypassed the flames. I moved out of the way as fast as I could, with the large hunk of metal impacting the same area where I standing moments prior, cracking the ground.

Undeterred, I charged Luana's Styler up to its second stage as she made loops around the Pokémon. Some time had passed as the Registeel's Friendship Meter increased more and more, though eventually, the fiery vortex subsided as Registeel took the opportunity to attack, pausing and not moving for a bit.

"W-what's it doing?" I asked as Registeel's arms glowed yellow.

Registeel dug into the ground swiftly, heaving up a piece of the earth. The Pokémon held the massive chunk of concrete and hurled it right at us…Luana and I dodged out of the way as it impacted the ground, turning into tiny pebbles as it rested its arms and hands on the ground.

"Buneary, Hi Jump Kick on Registeel, go!" Luana said.

Buneary springed up and came crashing down on the Registeel, knocking it into the ground as it immediately attempted to come out of the small crater made from such an impact. I went ahead and made loops around the Pokémon, making sure that I was quick in encircling it before Registeel got out of the ground. Eventually, the Registeel managed to crawl out of the crater and I was especially eager in finishing the battle as its Friendship Meter reached seventy percent. Before Luana or myself could issue a command to our Partner Pokémon, Registeel jumped backwards, at a considerable speed than we thought was possible for such a Pokémon and launched itself several feet into the air.

"Luana…run for it!" I said as we all moved as fast as we could.

Despite us running from Registeel in an attempt to get cover from an airborne attack, it was almost useless to do so, as the heavy Pokémon impacted the ground, knocking all of us off our feet as the ground trembled and a dust cloud formed. Trying to get up from such an attack only led to me seeing Registeel's eyes through the dust cloud, to make matters worse, the Pokémon seemed to have spotted me and lumbered forward.

Off to the side was Luana and our Partner Pokémon, who were getting up off of their feet while I struggled to move. Luana was the first to get up and hustled over to where I was, followed by our Partner Pokémon. Registeel didn't seem deterred at all and as the dust cloud cleared, it began to power up a Charge Beam, drawing its body inward as much as it could as its body glowed a bright yellow.

"Vulpix, Flamethrower, go!" Luana said as Vulpix unleashed Flamethrower.

The move went towards Registeel as it let out its Charge Beam, a powerful bright yellow racing in our direction. Pachirisu and Raichu jumped forward and absorbed the Charge Beam, negating the attack as Registeel took the full brunt of Flamethrower. The Pokémon reeled back from the attack and was unable to move, eventually, I found my bearings as I continued from where I left off, encircling the Registeel continuously. This went on for a few minutes as the Registeel once more tried getting up from receiving a powerful move and before Luana or myself knew it, the Pokémon was captured and registered into our Browsers.

"W-we…we did it…" I said as Registeel soon took off in the direction of the Ranger Union.

"Yes we did…should we follow it?" Luana asked.

"Yeah, let's go ahead and do that…but…man, what a tough battle we faced…how do we explain the mess that happened here?" I asked as we began following Registeel.

"I know…I feel awful about the damage, even though it wasn't our fault, it's still something I wish didn't happen." Luana said as I soon received a call from Marcus.

"Hi Kellyn and Luana, great work on Registeel's capture!" Marcus said.

"Ah…thanks Marcus, see…about that…the battle was more or less…destructive. We didn't mean to cause any damage and of course I'll pay for any repairs." I said.

"No way, I'll pay for them! The park is pretty wrecked now!" Luana said.

"Guys, don't worry, the Ranger Union can simply have some people and Pokémon patch the area up. Even if that wasn't the case, we wouldn't force you guys to pay for something out of your control, that just wouldn't be right." Marcus said.

"Heh, thanks for understanding Marcus. We'll be back at the Ranger Union soon as we're following Registeel." I said.

"Sounds good to me, we'll see you guys soon!" Marcus said as he hanged up.

"Phew…good thing we don't have much to do aside from capturing the last Pokémon, though I'm also pretty happy we don't have to pay!" I said as Luana chuckled.

"You bet, it wouldn't have been too good if that was the case, but either way, we're almost back to the Ranger Union!" Luana said.

After some time of following Registeel, Luana and I made it back to the Ranger Union, where the other two of the Regi trio were waiting. Upon seeing Registeel, Regice and Regirock practically swarmed the Steel type Pokémon as the two of them started to speak in an indiscernible language. Upon us reaching up with the three Pokémon, they noticed us and surprisingly, stared at us before momentarily waving. A few seconds later, the main doors opened as Marcus and Chairperson Erma stepped out.

"Kellyn! Luana! Awesome work dearies, you managed to do it!" Chairperson Erma said as she approached us and the Regi Trio, who waved to her.

"Wow, you guys are something else…you and your Partner Pokémon beat the odds and caught not just one…but all of the Regi Trio!" Marcus said.

"Thanks Chairperson Erma and Marcus, it was a bit difficult catching the trio, especially Registeel, but I was able to do it with the help of Luana and our Pokémon!" I said.

"That's right! Kellyn and our Partner Pokémon worked hard to catch these three! Now we just need to fill in the last space on our Browser…" Luana said as Marcus and Chairperson Erma grinned.

"Well your hard work definitely shows dearies, we appreciate everything you've done for us." Chairperson Erma said.

"Now then…should I tell them…or should you, Chairperson Erma?" Marcus asked.

"Hm? Tell us what?" Luana asked.

"I was planning on making this a surprise…but…Marcus and I were able to locate a Pokémon with a keen interest in you two." Chairperson Erma said.

"What sort of Pokémon is it?" I asked.

"It's a Pokémon…by the name of Regigigas ." Marcus said as the Regi Trio turned towards him.

"As you can tell based on the Trio's reactions, Regigigas is said to move mountains, managing to have absolute strength and power. Now…this Pokémon is currently residing on a small island located near Almia all on its lonesome. It's been waiting for someone to bring the Regis back to it so that it may find peace and you two are the ones who were able to do it. Are you two up for the challenge?" Chairperson Erma asked.

"We're always ready! How do we get there?" Luana asked.

"Before you guys rescued Espeon and Glaceon, you would've had to take a boat there, or find a Wailord to carry you to the island. Of course, now we can just have Espeon teleport you two there, making the three hour trip only take less than a second!" Marcus said.

"There is one restriction that the Pokémon asked of us. It was requested that neither of you are allowed to bring any Friend Pokémon, only your partners." Chairperson Erma said.

"We're fine with that, we're ready to go!" I said.

"Alrighty, Espeon's going to teleport you, your Partner Pokémon and the Regis momentarily. Best of luck!" Marcus said as we all vanished instantly.

Luana and I found ourselves on an island infested with jungle trees and looking around, there was the vast ocean surrounding us along with a small portion of sand and aside from that, there wasn't much else to the landscape.

The Regis began to move around in a circle, before subsequently doing a bizarre dance as they scattered around the island. While it was certainly an odd scene to witness, it soon became apparent that the legendary Regigigas was waiting for us, as a few of the jungle trees rustled and shook as we heard something coming. A few moments had passed as we spotted a Pokémon similar to the Regis stepping out from the tree line, moss covering its feet, legs and a part of its head. The Regis began to flail their arms around as Regigigas stepped closer…the Pokémon wasn't as large as Giratina, Dialga or Palkia, but it definitely wasn't diminutive in the slightest. Once the Regigigas was within fifteen or so feet of us, the Regis ceased their flailing as our Partner Pokémon got ready for battle.

"Regirock, Regice, Registeel, good work in bringing Kellyn and Luana here. Now as I'm sure you two may have known, but I'm eager to challenge you two. Dialga, Palkia and Giratina spoke very, very highly of your abilities and I just had to see firsthand for myself. Seeing that you've brought my family here, I have no doubt in my mind that you'll be able to capture me." Regigigas said.

"It'll be a fun fight, that's for sure. I'm surprised Dialga and the others spoke about us." I said.

"But of course, you two are extraordinary! My Regis won't be participating in this fight, especially considering that you captured them already, they'll simply observe. Now then, let's get started!" Regigigas said as I started off with Vulpix using Flamethrower on the Pokémon.

Despite the size of Regigigas, it managed to avoid the Flamethrower with relative ease. The Regis were about twenty feet or so from us, looking at their master and back at us.

"Hm, you two didn't expect me to be so swift, huh? Good move choice, now here comes mine!" Regigigas said as it punched the ground, cracking it as we tried to avoid stumbling over one another.

Eventually, the tremor ceased and we got back up on our feet, as our attempt to maintain balance only resulted in us falling down a few times anyway.

"Raichu, Pachirisu, Thunder Wave, go!" Luana said as both Pokémon unleashed electricity towards Regigias, stunning it immediately.

Luana moved forward and started the capture process, making loops around the Regigias while I charged her Styler up to its second stage. The three Regis on the other hand were freaking out and flailing their arms, though their reactions were hilarious, I had to maintain my composure and help Luana out however I could. Luana continued making loops around the Pokémon, not ceasing until the Regigias started to break free from paralysis again, though I simply had Pachirisu and Raichu stun it once more. This continued for a while until Regigias's Friendship Meter reached around thirty eight percent and both Raichu and Pachirisu became tired, heading off to the side with the Regis, who began to play with the two Electric types.

Regigias broke free from paralysis and immediately broke off a piece of the ground, which was a rather large chunk of land and hurled it at us. The mass of land, about the size of a Wailmer, came at us quickly as we got out of the way, with it impacting the ground and falling near the Regis, who stared at it curiously and began poking at it.

"Woah…sorry about that, wasn't trying to hurt you guys! I'm also testing your partner's abilities and responses as well." Regigias said as Eevee stepped forward.

"No problem Regigias, let's keep this fight going!" I said as Eevee launched a few Shadow Balls at the Regigigas, stunning it as it fell back on the ground.

I took over from Luana's position and started to encircle the Regigias, being quick with the capture process. As the Pokémon picked up a jungle tree, I immediately stopped making loops around Regigias as it twirled the tree around. The Regis, entertained by this, began to cheer and once again flailed their arms around, while Luana and I waited for their leader to cease with its attempt of impeding the capturing process. As Regigias continued with its tree twirling for a few more seconds, we both knew that it wouldn't stop anytime soon, so we had Eevee use Shadow Ball on the tree, making it fall out of Regigias's hand.

"Heh, nice work you two, I figured you would be smart enough to know that I'd try something like that." Regigias said as we had Buneary use Charm on the Regigias, managing to make it infatuated and rendering it unable to move.

Ironically and unsurprisingly, the other three Regis also became infatuated with Buneary, bringing their hands to where their mouths would be as they danced around the smaller Pokémon. Luana took advantage of the situation and made loops around Regigias, who was in awe of Buneary. This continued for a while as the Pokémon's Friendship Meter continued to rise, reaching close to sixty seven percent. Eventually the infatuation wore off as Regigias shook itself, clearing its head as it used Body Slam against the ground, sending out shock waves as we all fell off of our feet. Once Regigias's attack was over, we had Vulpix step up and use Fire Spin on the titan, though the attack was nullified by a fierce wave of its hands.

"Wow…nice method of dispelling that Fire Spin!" I said.

"Thanks, I'm not through just yet! Prepare yourselves!" Regigias said.

Regigias started to charge up a Hyper Beam and in an instant, the Pokémon unleashed its attack, with the yellow beam heading towards Luana and I, slowly at first and then speeding up. The two of us got out of the way and we had Vulpix use Flamethrower, hitting the Regigias's legs as it cancelled the attack due to the damage it received.

"Vulpix, follow up with a Fire Spin!" Luana said.

"Hah, good luck trying that!" Regigias said as Vulpix let out a fury of fire, the red hot spinning vortex impacting the Regigias as the move encircled it.

Now that the Regigias was slowed, Luana made loops around the Pokémon as the Regis cheered us on. The Pokémon's Friendship Meter reached around eighty percent as the fire dispelled and Regigias punched the ground in quick succession, causing several small tremors as we tried to keep steady. Eventually, the Regigias's attack ceased and we continued with making loops around it, though it soon unleashed an Ice Beam from its hands, partially freezing the ground near us.

"Buneary, Hi Jump Kick on Regigias, go!" I said, undeterred by the Pokémon's onslaught.

Buneary landed a direct hit on Regigias, making it hit the ground as the Regis bounced up and down. I immediately made loops around Regigias while it was struggling to move out of the ground. Eventually, the Pokémon made it out even as its Friendship Meter neared ninety two percent and it followed up with several punches on the ground, making the land shake as we tried maintaining our balance.

I continued to make loops around the Regigias even as the ground shook, doing my best to be as steady as possible. It wasn't long before the Regigias was captured and registered in our Browser, earning a silly dance from the Regi Trio as Luana and I high fived each other before hugging our Partner Pokémon.

Regigias, impressed with our prowess, trudged forward until it was about four feet from us.

"Kellyn…Luana and your adorable Pokémon…well done in capturing me, I knew you could do it. As you saw, my Regis were very impressed as well and your courage was inspiring." Regigias said.

"Thank you Regigias, it was an honor to battle with you." I said.

"I feel the same, the two of you are truly something. I wish you both the best of luck moving onwards. I assume that your friend will be teleporting you back soon, the Espeon informed me of your Chairperson's interest in your abilities and this was a great way of you guys testing yourselves." Regigias said.

"Definitely, we enjoyed the battle, it really was great to prove ourselves against such a foe." Luana said as the three Regis moved towards us and danced around Luana and I, making us chuckle.

"I'm glad to have provided you two with such a worthy battle." Regigias said.

The four Pokémon and us exchanged goodbyes in the nick of time before we promptly reappeared in front of the Ranger Union. Soon after that, Marcus and Chairperson Erma emerged from the Ranger Union, followed by Wendy, Sven, Keith, Rhythmi and Linda.

"Let's hear it for the duo who captured Regigias!" Chairperson Erma said as everyone cheered.

"Thanks guys, it was such a great battle! We enjoyed getting such a thrill out of doing it!" I said.

"Glad to hear you guys had fun!" Wendy said.

"Yeah! Now that your Browsers are all filled up, what's the next plan for you two?" Sven asked.

Luana and I looked at each other and smiled, both of us knowing exactly what the other was thinking.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I asked.

"You bet I am…it's time to take a vacation!" Luana said as everyone laughed.


	81. Chapter 81: Love of Two Pokémon Rangers

**A/N: I hope you all enjoyed reading this story as much as I did writing it, I'll also say that I'm not done with fanfics!**

**A/N: I don't own Pokemon!**

Chapter 81: Love of Two Pokémon Rangers

-Third person POV-

The entire Ranger Union had a party to celebrate the achievements of Kellyn and Luana, it was only the day after the duo captured Regigias and no one wasted anytime in having fun. Of course, the celebration was a hit and it went on late into the night. The following evening, Kellyn and Luana took their well needed vacation as they went to Haruba Village and visited Terry and Luana's parents, intending to stay there and enjoy themselves for an entire week.

Of course, the two lovers didn't spend all of their vacation time with Luana's family, once Kellyn and Luana finished hanging out with her brother and parents, they let their Partner Pokémon play with the family as the two enjoyed some nice alone time together. In no time, Kellyn and Luana were on the seventh day of their vacation already and it was late in the evening, close to nine o' clock. The two were walking through Haruba Desert comfortably and were taking in the scenery as Kellyn eyed a rather elegant jewelry store.

"Say Luana…how about we do some quick browsing through that jewelry store? Maybe you'll see something that catches your eye?" Kellyn asked.

"Sure, we can definitely go ahead and take a look! But you know…you're the one who caught my eye from the moment I saw you." Luana said as Kellyn wrapped his arm around hers.

"You always say the sweetest things, that's just one of the reasons I adore you so much." Kellyn said as the two entered inside.

Unbeknownst to Luana, Kellyn took out some money from the Pueltown Bank prior to the two going on vacation…well technically, he asked his mother to do it for him, since Luana would certainly suspect something if Kellyn simply went to the bank right before they took off. The two Top Rangers entered the store and were greeted by a jeweler, who helped the pair out with choosing a ring that would suit Luana best. After some time, Kellyn and Luana settled on a gold ring that had a gorgeous diamond in the center. Once they were done, Kellyn paid for the ring and the two left the store, with Kellyn holding the bag as they began to walk back to the Ranger Depot they were resting at, as Luana's brother was set to head back and travel next week, while Luana's parents were working the night shift.

_'__I would've wanted the ring to be a surprise…but it's better to have Luana involved, especially since she's so thrilled.' _Kellyn thought to himself.

"Kellyn, thank you for such a beautiful ring, I feel bad that you had to spend your money on getting me something like this!" Luana said as Kellyn chuckled.

"No need to feel that way Luana, having you in my life is just…amazing and I couldn't ask for a better partner and girlfriend." Kellyn said as the two reached the entrance of the Ranger Depot.

"Aww Kellyn, I'm glad you're in my life too, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me!" Luana said as Kellyn got down on one knee.

"Luana, I always knew you felt that way. Of course, I wasn't able to propose to you before, considering how we had to take down Team Dim Sun. But…today's the day and the time's right...I just know that you and I will always be united as one, no matter what stands in our way! Luana…the two of us have been through things I could have never imagined going through or facing and while I may not have admitted it…at first, I was wondering what it was you saw in me and I soon realized that you and I fell in love with one another for who we are. Without you, I definitely wouldn't have been able to accomplish most, if not all of the things we've done as a team…Luana, I…I want you by my side for the rest of my life, if you'll have me. S-so…I just have to ask…will you marry me?" Kellyn asked as Luana put her hands to her mouth, tears rolling down her eyes.

Kellyn didn't even have a second to say or do anything else before Luana practically tackled him and lifted the young man off the ground, kissing him all over as she giggled.

"O-of course I'll marry you! I wouldn't accept such a heartfelt proposal from anyone else but you…I love you Kellyn and I'll cherish you always!" Luana said.

Luana promptly put Kellyn down before he happily put the engagement ring on her right ring finger. Shortly afterwards, the two headed inside the Ranger Depot. Kellyn and Luana went and called their respective families, though Luana's parents and brother couldn't talk for long, the three of them assured the pair that they'll discuss the plans for the wedding once Kellyn and Luana decide on a date. Kellyn's parents and Rina were of course, thrilled that the two were set to engage and also let the two know that they'll be able to help out with the wedding plans when the time comes. Satisfied that their families knew, Kellyn and Luana changed off into their pajamas and went to bed.

In the morning, the two packed up their stuff and headed to the home of Luana's parents, hoping to say goodbye before they asked Marcus to have Espeon warp them back to the Ranger Union. Upon arrival, Kellyn and Luana saw that Luana's parents and brother were already there. After some brief conversation and congratulations, Luana and Kellyn said their goodbyes before leaving and heading to the main part of Haruba Village. Once there, Luana took out her Styler to call Marcus.

"Hi there Marcus, Kellyn and I just finished up at my parent's place. Sorry if there were any delays or anything!" Luana said.

"Hello Luana and Kellyn, no need to apologize, you guys weren't late at all! You sound rather excited, did something good happen?" Marcus asked.

"Well…Kellyn and I will let you know once we're teleported back to the Ranger Union, can you make sure to round up everyone? You know, Barlow, Crawford, Sven, Wendy, Keith and anyone else you can think of!" Luana said.

"Sure thing, will do! Hoo boy, sounds like great news if you need everyone!" Marcus said as he hanged up.

A few minutes later, Kellyn and Luana were warped back to the Ranger Union, just outside the entrance. Taking a deep breath, Kellyn and Luana headed inside and were greeted by Chairperson Erma, Sven, Wendy, Keith and Marcus.

"Welcome back dearies, I hope you two had a fun vacation!" Chairperson Erma said.

"We certainly did, how did you all do with us gone?" Kellyn asked.

"It was really boring, especially with Sven over there." Keith joked.

"Hey, at least I didn't fall asleep after eating that slice of chocolate cake!" Sven said as Wendy giggled.

"That was something else, but all jokes aside, we missed you two a lot! Marcus said Luana sounded really thrilled over the phone, what's up?" Wendy asked as everyone else piled into the lobby.

Barlow, Crawford, Ollie, Elaine, Linda, Rhythmi and Marcus soon joined the small gathering as Kellyn and Luana looked at one another before Luana flashed one of the happiest smiles she's ever had.

"Kellyn and I…we're going to be engaged!" Luana said as everyone cheered, whistled and clapped.

The two Top Rangers gave each other a kiss on the lips, earning another rowdy cheer of applause from their friends.

-Five months later-

The wedding didn't take too long to plan, as Kellyn and Luana's family were more than happy to help out. The two sets of families along with Kellyn and Luana agreed on the wedding taking place in front of the Vientown Ranger Base, as it's where the two first met and truly fell in love. On the day of the wedding, Kellyn was dressed in a nice blue and white suit and tie while Luana wore the same colors. Luana had an elegant wedding dress with blue accents throughout the entire dress itself, making it look very stunning against the sunny outdoors.

Everyone in Vientown was there, as was both families along with Kellyn and Luana's friends. Kellyn and Luana exchanged their heartfelt vows for one another, earning a few tears from their family members and quite a few of their friends. Once they finished, it was time to celebrate and soon, hours passed as everyone ate, drank and had a great time with each other, the Partner Pokémon were happy for their human partners, and they ran around the two as Barlow prepared himself to officially unite the couple as one with the closing.

"A-Ahem…everyone, I want to thank all of you for coming as we gather here today to celebrate the uniting of Kellyn and Luana, our dear friends. Kellyn, do you take Luana as your lawfully wedded wife?" Barlow asked as the crowd silently watched in anticipation.

"I do." Kellyn said.

"Luana, do you take Kellyn as your lawfully wedded husband?" Barlow asked.

"I do." Luana said.

"Congratulations, I now pronounce you two, husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride!" Barlow said as Kellyn kissed Luana on the lips, making the crowd cheer and clap.

Kellyn and Luana shared another kiss and then sat down with their families as they began to talk about the future together. As music began to play, everyone began to dance and party though after Kellyn and Luana had their share of dancing, Wendy and Sven hurried over with a gift.

"Kellyn, Luana, we're glad to have become friends with you two, here's a bouquet of flowers…this one is very special." Wendy said.

"Wendy's right, this bouquet will surprise you two big time. Congratulations, Kellyn and Luana!" Sven said.

Wendy quickly presented Kellyn and Luana with a beautiful bouquet of pink flowers and the gorgeous flowers shined brightly as an adorable Shaymin popped out. Overjoyed to have come so far, Luana and Kellyn celebrated along with all of their friends and families at their wedding as Shaymin danced happily, making rose petals gently fall from the sky. As their friends and families looked on, the two smiled and shared a kiss.

"Shaymin…the Gratitude Pokémon…it loves presenting flowers to people who show gratitude and love towards their partner." Wendy said.

"Kellyn, Luana…you both have an overwhelming amount of love and gratitude for each other and today certainly signifies the unity you share." Chairperson Erma said.

"W-wow, these flowers from Shaymin…they're absolutely beautiful!" Luana said.

"I know, they're almost as stunning as you! What makes this even better is that what Wendy and Chairperson Erma said is right…these beautiful flowers that all of us are seeing today…it's a result of the combination of our love…the love of two Pokémon Rangers!" Kellyn said as the newly married couple kissed, earning a roar of cheers from people and Pokémon across Almia.

* * *

**Hi guys, I'm glad I was able to make such a wonderful story to share with all of you, and I hope you guys enjoyed reading it! I really hope none of you were disappointed in the way my story finished or anything like that, since I want you guys to be satisfied. While I won't do a long story such as this one again, rest assured that I'll definitely keep doing fanfics for all of you to enjoy. I hope you all stay safe, thanks for being awesome, everyone!**


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